\n Angela, who works at Wirral University Teaching Hospital, leads the maternity team on the Smoking in Pregnancy Pathway.\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: “The best thing you can do for you and your baby is to quit smoking.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The Smoking in Pregnancy Pathway is a programme of support options that connects women to Wirral\u2019s stop smoking service, ABL.\n<\/p>\n
\n Funded by Wirral Council Public Health, ABL offers personalised help to anyone trying to quit, including pregnant women.\n<\/p>\n
\n Angela said: “Smoking is the single biggest modifiable risk factor during pregnancy.\n<\/p>\n
\n “This means, it\u2019s the biggest risk to yours and your baby\u2019s health that, unlike some other risk factors, is in your power to change.\n<\/p>\n
\n “If you smoke while pregnant it carries lots of risks for yourself and your baby including miscarriage and preterm birth.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Your baby can also struggle to grow and have difficulty breathing at birth, with increased risk of asthma in childhood.\n<\/p>\n
\n “There\u2019s also a risk of high blood pressure and respiratory problems for yourself, along with risks of bleeding and problems with your placenta.”\n<\/p>\n
\n She stressed that quitting smoking at any stage of pregnancy can make a difference.\n<\/p>\n
\n Angela said: “We\u2019ve had people who have had multiple quit attempts in pregnancy, people who\u2019ve tried to quit in the past and been unsuccessful.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Whatever their story, we always say to never give up.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Trying again can work.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It\u2019s about motivating mums to have another go.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Even exposure to second-hand smoke can put mothers and babies at risk, she warned.\n<\/p>\n
\n Angela said: “Living with somebody who smokes can give a pregnant person a high carbon monoxide (CO) level and give you the same risks as smoking.”\n<\/p>\n
\n She wants women to know that help is available all year round.\n<\/p>\n
\n Angela said: “Stoptober is a great time to talk about smoking and help people quit, but we offer this support 365 days a year.\n<\/p>\n
\n “If you\u2019re pregnant, speak to your midwife and they can refer you to get help to quit.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Angela, who works at Wirral University Teaching Hospital, leads the maternity team on the Smoking in Pregnancy Pathway.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,179,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-544555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115481192887989421","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}