PREGNANT women across North Wales are giving up smoking thanks to a ground- breaking specialist service which is delivered in their own homes.

As part of the NHS 'Help Me Quit for Baby' project, run by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, a dedicated team of smoking cessation advisors, who work solely with pregnant smokers, see women in their own homes for as many appointments as it takes for them to quit. They also offer support to family members or partners who want to quit.

Across Wales, around 16% of mums-to-be smoke throughout their pregnancy and 11,864 unborn babies are exposed to harm from tobacco each year.

The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area, where 5,800 babies were born between 2017-18, has one of the highest rates of pregnant smokers in Wales; however, thanks to the project, 238 pregnant women were given help to quit between April 2018 and March 2019, according to the Welsh Government’s latest figures on smoking cessation services.

During the appointments the team get to know the women they work with and find out more about why they smoke, admitting they can often become ‘a shoulder to cry on’. A big part of the quit process is encouraging behavioural change and getting them to adjust their daily routine, according to Help Me Quit for Baby team member Jackie Buckley.

She said: "Many women say the only way they can cope with their lives is by smoking. They see it as the only way they can have five minutes to themselves.

"So, we encourage them to find other ways to de-stress such as playing a game on their phone instead.

"Often they go round to see their families and everybody gathers together to have a smoke. It’s a ritual and they still want to be a part of that.

"It’s really important to get them to come up with their own ideas of how to deal with those sorts of situations."

One in five sudden infant deaths is linked to smoking, as well as long term problems in children such as learning difficulties, hyperactivity, ear, nose and throat problems, obesity and diabetes.

Research has shown that children with parents that smoke are three times more likely to take up the habit in later life.

Women in North Wales are referred to the Help Me Quit for Baby service by their midwife at any time during their pregnancy, after taking a CO monitor test to measure the amount of carbon monoxide in their bodies. If a woman agrees to take part in the programme, she is offered weekly specialist support and free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).

The team believes being able to see women in the comfort of their own home, is key to their success. Home visits also mean the team can also speak with other members of the family who smoke and offer them cessation support. As well as protecting the health of the unborn baby, the team hopes that by helping women and their families to quit smoking, they can enable the baby to live in a smoke-free home once it is born.

Smoking in pregnancy carries serious health risk. The carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke reduces the amount of oxygen to the placenta which can lead to - premature delivery, increased risk of miscarriage, still birth and sudden infant death.

There is, says Jackie, a big taboo around the subject of smoking in pregnancy, and many women feel ashamed of their habit – a feeling that stops some admitting they smoke and seeking help to quit.

The team aims to adopt a totally non-judgemental approach to the women they work with and are keen to empathise that they are not there to criticise or lecture their clients.

She said: "We take a very non-judgemental approach. We tell women that we’re not there to judge them but to get the best support for them to quit smoking.

"If it becomes too clinical then that becomes a barrier so we try to speak to them as we would with a friend and we encourage them to be honest, for instance, if there is a blip and they start smoking again.

"It also helps to share stories of other women we have worked with who have managed to stop smoking."

Suzanne Cass, CEO of the tobacco control campaign group ASH Wales, congratulated the team on the success of the scheme and said she hoped it would one day be available across Wales.

She said: "Smoking is not a lifestyle choice for pregnant women, it is an addiction that poses a serious health risk to them and their babies.

"It is crucially important that tailored, non-judgemental support is available to help these women to quit in an environment that they feel comfortable in.

"The success of this project shows what can be achieved by thinking outside the box and providing flexible, innovative and targeted support that is designed to meet the needs of pregnant smokers and their families."