Protecting your baby from smoke is one of the best things you can do to give your child a healthy start in life. The sooner you stop smoking, the better chances you’ll have of a healthier, happier pregnancy and birth.
Every cigarette you smoke contains over 5,000 toxic chemicals. Smoking when pregnant restricts oxygen to your baby, making their heart beat faster and significantly increasing the risk of complications.
Breathing in second-hand smoke from others (known as passive smoking) when pregnant can also harm your baby, so it’s important your partner and family don’t smoke near you.
Quitting smoking as early as possible will reduce the risk of:
If you’re having a baby, your midwife can refer you to a special stop smoking service just for pregnant women and their partners. Here you’ll be given one-to-one support from a stop smoking advisor who is also a trained midwife or maternity support worker.
They will support you throughout your pregnancy and for the first 12 months after giving birth.
Most nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is safe to use during pregnancy. It is recommended to use nicotine replacement if it will help you stop smoking, as they don't contain any of the damaging chemicals found in cigarettes.
If you find vaping helpful to quit and to stay smoke-free, it is much safer for you and your baby than continuing to smoke.
The most important thing is to not smoke when pregnant or around pregnant women.
Speak to your midwife or contact your stop smoking adviser for advice and support.
Remember, you're not alone. More women quit smoking when they are pregnant than at any other time during their lives.
Manchester NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) Smokefree Pregnancy service provides free specialist stop-smoking support for pregnant women and their partners in Salford.
Need more support to quit smoking? The links on this page might help.
This page was last updated on 28 September 2023