Higher rate of smoke-free pregnancies in Greater Manchester
Latest figures from NHS Digital show reduction in those who smoked during pregnancy – but there is still more work to be done.
During pregnancy, ‘Everything you breathe in passes through to your baby,’ cautions the NHS ‘Start for Life’ website. Smoke – including second-hand smoke – passes from the lungs, into the bloodstream and then through the placenta to the baby in the womb. This can mean the baby struggles for oxygen, which can have a number of very serious side-effects, impacting their development and future health.
Photo by Tim Bish
While the effects of smoking in pregnancy have been long understood, according to NHS Digital, an average 7.4% people in England smoked while pregnant between April 2023 and March 2024.
While smoking rates for the general population are based on surveys, and so rely on the honesty of participants, smoking rates at time for delivery are verified by carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring, so are very accurate.
The figures for Greater Manchester are 7.7%, slightly above this national average. Yet that figure is also significantly down on the 9.4% for 2022-23, and marks the sixth consecutive year in which numbers have fallen.
That drop is due in large part to Greater Manchester’s smokefree pregnancy programme, working closely with the Maternity Network and part of Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership’s regional tobacco control strategy. The programme was launched in 2018, when rates were 12.6% (2017-18). Since then, it has seen a reduction in figures by more than a quarter and supported more than 6,000 people.
The programme offers free, personalised support to stop smoking via a specialist maternity service with one-to-one guidance, free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), regular carbon monoxide (CO) screening and an incentive scheme. Since the launch in Greater Manchester, similar programmes have since been rolled out across the country.
Jane Pilkington, Director of Population Health at NHS Greater Manchester, says: ‘We are thrilled to see such a substantial decrease in smoking at time of delivery. We will continue to strive for a future where every pregnancy in Greater Manchester is smokefree.’
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