Chesterfield and north Derbyshire mums 50 per cent more likely to smoke during pregnancy

Mothers in Chesterfield and northern Derbyshire are 50 per cent more likely to be smokers at the time of giving birth despite the potential harm to their babies, according to worrying figures released by the NHS.

Joined-Up Care Derbyshire (JUCD) is focussing on pregnant smokers in a bid to reduce infant mortality and health problems later in life as part of its newly launched Tobacco Dependency Treatment Programme.

The latest available data shows in 2020/21 488 women were smokers at the time of delivery at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, this represents 14.2 per cent of all births – the national average for this year was 9.6 per cent.

Numbers were also high at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, with 1,250 smokers at the time of delivery, which was 10.95 per cent of all births.

Explaining how this problem is being addressed to the Derbyshire County Council Improvement and Scrutiny Committee for Health, Angela Deakin, of JUCD, said: “What we’re trying to do is just explain what the benefits are to stop smoking and go through all the necessary issues to help them along that journey.”

She added that there was already a scheme in place at the moment, but this new programme was expanding upon it and putting a ‘spotlight’ on smoking during pregnancy, with the aim of reducing figures by 40 per cent across the whole county.

Posters and information on the harmful effects of smoking – such as increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death and birth defects – will be made prominent within the antenatal clinic.

Mothers and their partners will also be offered the opportunity to take part in a 12-week programme with trained advisers who provide support to quit, who will build a rapport with them and monitor their progress.

Ms Deakin added: “We also have training for the ward staff in what we call ‘quality conversations’ to really engage initially to say ‘can we put your name forward to an advisor to help you stop smoking?’.”

The programme also has a particular focus on hospital patients with mental health problems, who are more likely to die ten to 20 years earlier than the national average.