Health groups and charities are calling on the UK government to continue to champion the crusade against pregnancy smoking toward a national ambition of reducing pregnancy smoking rates to 6% by the year 2020.
According to MSN News, the 20 organisations under the umbrella of the Smoking in Pregnancy Challenge group, which includes Action on Smoking and Health, Bliss, the Faculty of Public Health, the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Nursing are urging the government to not be content with perceived recent successes. Instead, the government must continue to build upon these until the success is uniform across the nation and the gap in pregnancy smoking rates have been narrowed between rich and poor. The group is also supported by Lullaby Trust, Tommy's and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (Rcog).
To achieve this the group suggests improvement on the systems of data collection, automatic referral of GPs to specialist services for pregnant smokers unless a smoker should opt out and a mandatory training program for health professionals.
Lullaby Trust chief executive Francine Bates says,"Smoking in pregnancy remains the largest modifiable risk factor in sudden infant deaths, which devastates families." She believes that the most vulnerable will be the hardest hit unless a significant drop in the rate of pregnancy smoking is effected.
In the UK, an estimated 2,200 premature births, 5,000 miscarriages as well as 300 stillbirths yearly are linked to pregnancy smoking.
Deborah Arnott of Action on Smoking and Health adds emphasises to concern on this issue by highlighting the threat of cuts to the public health budget and to local services that support in helping women quit pregnancy smoking.
The BBC reports that although only 2.1% pregnant women now in Westminster smoke during pregnancy, 27.2% of pregnancy smoking still exists in Blackpool. Each year pregnancies affected by smoking is still more than 70,000.
Rcog President Dr David Richmond states: "Stopping smoking is the most important thing a pregnant woman can do to improve her baby's health, growth and development and reduce unnecessary pregnancy complications."
