Women smoking during pregnancy in the north west at record low thanks to NHS support

This year saw the biggest annual fall in smoking during pregnancy in the north west since records began, meaning 873 fewer pregnant women smoked in the region compared to the previous 12 months, protecting hundreds of babies from potential harm.

NHS England is working to ensure all maternity services can offer pregnant woman who smoke specialist support to quit - with focused treatment including nicotine replacement therapy. More than 90% of inpatient and maternity services are now delivering smoking cessation services for patients.

The most recent Statistics on Women's Smoking Status at Time of Delivery shows that in the north west, 8.4% of women were known to be smokers at the end of their pregnancy in 2023/24 – down on last year, when the rate was 10.3%. The number of women smoking in pregnancy nationally also reduced significantly from 8.8% in 2022/23 to 7.4% in 2023/24.

Smoking whilst pregnant is extremely dangerous as inhaling carbon monoxide, a harmful chemical present in cigarette smoke, reduces the amount of oxygen getting to the baby in the womb and increases the chance of miscarriage, stillbirth and sudden infant death.

Pregnant smokers are being urged to access dedicated NHS support to help them quit – including nicotine replacement therapy and electronic checks to test their exposure to carbon monoxide.

Claire Mathews, chief midwife for NHS England – North West, said: “It is extremely encouraging to see that the number of pregnant women smoking has reached an all-time low, with thanks to our brilliant teams of midwives and the specialist support we provide to expectant mums through our maternity services.”

“We want to help even more pregnant women to live smokefree and will continue to provide dedicated support to anyone accessing our maternity services – so if you are considering having a baby or recently pregnant and looking for support to quit, please do speak to your maternity team, they are here to help.”

The NHS supports the government’s ambition for a smoke-free UK, with a focus on stopping people from starting to smoke.

Information on NHS services to help people to stop smoking is available at https://www.nhs.uk/