Guest post by Susan Jones, Research Associate, Teesside University
"I was 12 years old when I started to smoke. I wasn’t thinking long-term, about my future, about the adult world I would one day join … I just wanted to look cool among my peers, be accepted and act grown up. Then I really did grow up and I was still smoking. Then I became pregnant … and I was still smoking. I didn’t exactly choose to be a smoker when I was pregnant but here I am ... addicted and not really wanting to give it up, or even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could – even for my baby.
A composite from interviews with pregnant smokers and maternity staff."My mam smoked when she was pregnant with me, and I’ve turned out all right; all my family smokes, all my friends smoke, my partner smokes too; in fact smoking is a part of all my close relationships, especially with my partner, we smoke together, it is part of how our relationship works."
"I feel guilty, oh so guilty, but I can’t, I really can’t give up – I simply do not have the confidence to do it. I know that ‘smoking is bad for my baby’; I care for my baby and don’t want to do anything that would cause harm, and I’m really looking after myself, eating well, not drinking any more. I’ve cut down but I hardly dare think about quitting smoking, how on earth would I cope? And my partner, he’s not willing to change his smoking habits, or at least he’s agreed he’ll just not breathe over me when he’s been smoking, but he’s not even prepared to cut down – all he does is tell me, you must quit for the sake of the baby."
Smoking is highly addictive and habit forming; many people enjoy the feeling it brings too[1]. Nevertheless the damage from smoking to the developing baby is well documented and the high level of smoking in pregnancy is still a major public health concern[2]. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Public Health Guidance 26 (2010)[3] sets out all the trial-based evidence relating to the activities health professionals should take to support pregnant women to quit smoking. BabyClear© is a programme that supports health professionals to implement NICE guidance and provides standard training for them in order to carry out the activities in the most effective ways[4].
When we evaluated the implementation of the babyClear© package during its roll-out across North East England, we found that, for healthcare practitioners to challenge smoking behaviour amongst pregnant women, there needs to be a whole support system in place for both the professionals and the women whose behaviour they seek to change[5].
We recently developed an animation, based on our findings, which you can watch here:
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust took part in the evaluation of the implementation of the babyClear© package and works closely with its local stop smoking service. As Joanna Feeney, the Smokefree NHS Strategic Manager, says:
"South Tees is a great example of how Stop Smoking Services and Maternity Services can work together to help support Pregnant women to have Smokefree Pregnancies.
"Most women who smoke during their pregnancy may know that smoking is bad but they are not aware of all the risks to them or to baby, they are also not aware of the help and support that is available to quit, including treatments such as Nicotine Replacement Therapy.
"Implementing advice and treatment as part of routine Maternal care that is continued outside of hospital with the Stop Smoking Service helps ensure that babies are given the best start in life.
"Last year in South Tees there were 334 more babies born Smokefree compared to 2012, and this year following the great work done on the wards at James Cook University Hospital the numbers are continuing to reduce but we recognise that there is still more to be done to ensure that every baby is born smokefree."
The Maternity and Stop Smoking Services reviewed the referral pathway and developed an online referral system that not only makes it easier for midwives but increases the speed with which women are contacted and given an appointment with the Stop Smoking Service.
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| Image courtesy of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
The Stop Smoking Service provides regular feedback to Maternity on the outcomes of women referred, enabling Maternity to offer bespoke interventions to those women who do not engage with treatment.
A further example of how South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has moved towards a whole support system and worked in close partnership with stop smoking services is an initiative they undertook last year to redecorate the entrance to their maternity unit using eye-catching posters with a strong, stop smoking message.
And now, a year on, Kay Branch, Consultant Public Health midwife, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust says:
"We are still really proud to have led the way towards a smokefree Trust. Our staff have noticed a reduction in the presence of anyone smoking outside entrances.
"We continue to work collaboratively with the local stop smoking service to ensure a streamlined service for women and their partners. Nicotine replacement therapy is available to all of our patients and is widely used across maternity.
"Our smoking at time of delivery reflects our hard work and passion for smokefree families."
Maternity’s lead has inspired the whole Trust to implement a systematic approach to treating tobacco dependency with Maternity being the model ward.
I would encourage you to take a look at the animation above and publications relating to the roll-out of the babyClear© intervention package across the North East region. Please do share them with commissioners and providers of services, but also your colleagues, family and friends and any pregnant smokers you know.
More information on our evaluation work can be found here on the Fuse website.
References:
- Chamberlain, C., O'Mara-Eves, A., Porter, J., Coleman, T., Perlen, S. M. et al. (2017) Psychosocial interventions for supporting women to stop smoking in pregnancy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Accessed on 18/03/19 at: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001055.pub5/epdf/full
- Bauld, L., Graham, H., Sinclair, L., Flemming, K., Naughton, F. et al. (2017) Barriers to and facilitators of smoking cessation in pregnancy and following childbirth: literature review and qualitative study. Health Technology Assessment, 21(36). https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hta/hta21360#/abstract
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2010) Quitting smoking in pregnancy and following childbirth: public health guidance 26. NICE: London https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph26/resources/smoking-stopping-in-pregnancy-and-after-childbirth-pdf-1996240366789
- Bell, R., Glinianaia, S. V., Van der Waal, Z., Close, A., Moloney, E., Jones, S., Araujo-Soares, V., Hamilton, S., Milne, E., Shucksmith, J., Vale, L., Willmore, M., White, M., Rushton, S. (2018) Evaluation of a complex healthcare intervention to increase smoking cessation in pregnant women: interrupted time series analysis with economic evaluation. Tobacco Control, 27: 1. Accessed on 18/03/19 at: http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/tobaccocontrol-2016-053476
- Jones, S.E., Hamilton, S., Bell, R. Araújo-Soares, V., Glinianaia, S.V., Milne, E.M.G., White, M., Willmore, M., Shucksmith, J. What helped and hindered implementation of an enhanced package of measures to reduce smoking in pregnancy: process evaluation guided by Normalization Process Theory. BMC Health Services Research [In press]
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