Health Ministry figures show a quarter of pregnant Bay of Plenty women smoke. The fact is, due to smoking's modern status as a fairly uncool habit with the potential for ghastly side-effects, most smoking is under-reported.
The true rate of smoking mums-to-be in our community is almost certainly higher.
If
the women involved do not know the risks associated with smoking during pregnancy, the answer is education. They must understand they risk horrific outcomes, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, or cot death, as well as complications which are less life-threatening but still unwelcome, such as difficulty with breastfeeding.
If the women do have some cognisance of the dangers, but continue to smoke, the answer is still education. Few who have battled to quit smoking will argue about the addictive power of nicotine, but patches, gums and lozenges are available which will, in part, satisfy the addiction without affecting the unborn child.
If the women smoking during childbirth do so knowing the risks and knowing there are less harmful ways they could be satisfying their cravings, they perhaps need mental health support. It would be awful to care so little for the life you were bringing into the world that you willingly, knowingly, put that life at risk.
