Love Bump
SSBC has joined forces with other local organisations to help pregnant women to stop smoking.
Nottingham has one of the highest rates of smoking in pregnancy in the UK. To tackle this worrying statistic, SSBC his helping to raise awareness of the risks and improving access to support for all mums-to-be in Nottingham.
The number of women who smoke while pregnant is much higher in Nottingham than the rest of the country.
In 2019/20, 16.3% of pregnant women in Nottingham said that they were smoking up until they had their baby. This compares to 10.2% average in the rest of England.[1]
Smoking can have a devastating effect on the health of both mum and baby.
“Smoking causes birth defects, short and long term health conditions for mum and baby, and can even lead to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also known as ‘cot death’.”
Cllr Eunice Campbell-Clark, Portfolio Holder for Health, HR and Equalities at Nottingham City Council
Research by The Lullaby Trust shows that women who smoke 1-9 cigarettes a day while pregnant are “more than four times likely to have a baby die as a sudden infant death (SIDS) than a woman who didn’t smoke at all during pregnancy.”
Smoking more than 20 cigarettes per day can increase the chance of SIDS by “nearly nine times”.[2]
SSBC has joined forces with Nottingham City Council, Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH), Nottingham CityCare Partnership, and Stub It to help raise awareness of the risks. We're also improving access to support services.
The Love Bump campaign benefits all pregnant women in Nottingham who want to stop smoking.
We're working with local groups that support mums-to-be and their partners, including midwives, health visitors, children’s nurses, and SSBC Family Mentors.
“We want women and their partners to have all the information they need to make a healthy decision for themselves and their baby. We’re pleased that new specialist training is helping healthcare providers and partner workforces across the City deliver the best possible support for pregnant mums and their families.”
Karla Capstick, Programme Director at SSBC
If you're a pregnant woman who smokes, speak to your midwife or GP. They will tell you about the support that's available, which includes free nicotine replacement products.
Sarah Dykes, a mum-of-three from Aspley, spoke her to midwife at her 9-week scan. She was referred to a specialist Stop Smoking Advisor, who provided her with nicotine replacement therapy.
“I’d urge anyone who wants to quit to ask for help – I just spoke to my midwife and she sorted it for me. My Stop Smoking Advisor was really friendly and down to earth. She let me take it at my own pace and I couldn’t have done it without her.”
Sarah
“You can protect your baby from second and third hand smoke by making sure that friends and family don’t smoke near your baby – including in your home or your car. If you or your partner smoke, even if you do not smoke in the bedroom, it’s really important that you do not share a bed (co-sleep) with your baby as it greatly increases the chance of SIDS or ‘cot death’.”
Holly Crampton, a specialist Maternity Stop Smoking Advisor
Love Bump campaign materials
More advice about stopping smoking while pregnant is available from The Lullaby Trust.
[1] https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-women-s-smoking-status-at-time-of-delivery-england
[2] www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/smoking/
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