Message to mums: ’We can help you to stop smoking’
STOP IT! Tina Spiers, Debbie Hill and Amanda Bath from the Portsmouth Maternity Centre. They are supporting the stop smoking outside QA poster competition. Picture: Paul Jacobs (120303-8)
MUMS-TO-BE can get help to quit smoking in a bid to improve their health and that of their unborn child
Midwives say they recognise pregnancy can be a stressful time and that expectant mothers may continue to smoke.
But public health midwife Amanda Bath, who works at the Portsmouth Maternity Centre, in Milton, said help is at hand.
She said: ‘Women need to know there is help there for them to stop smoking.
‘Smoking can increase the risk of miscarriage, increase the risk of stillborn births and lead to cot death.
‘It is not just about mum smoking throughout a pregnancy, but the rest of the family too.
‘We want to support the families because even if the mum doesn’t smoke, there is still passive smoking to consider.
‘We want to get the message across that it’s never too late to quit.’
Around 6,000 babies are born in Portsmouth each year, with 15 per cent of mothers still smoking at the time of delivery.
‘Pregnancy is a stressful time, but we can offer nicotine replacement therapy and support to stop,’ added Amanda.
‘We can refer them to support groups like Quit4Life for PompeyQuit.’
Queen Alexandra hospital and The News have launched a poster competition aimed at encouraging people to stop smoking outside the entrances at QA.
In a bid to tackle this, the hospital is encouraging people to get involved with creating an effective poster to encourage smokers to use them.
The competition is open to people of all ages and posters can be designed electronically or by hand.
The winning design will be made into a poster and its designer will win £100. Second prize wins £75, while third prize is £50.
The closing date for the competition is February 28.
To enter the contest, send your poster, along with the completed voucher, below, to: QA Poster Competition, The News Centre, Hilsea, Portsmouth, PO2 9SX.
You can also email electronic poster designs to priya.mistry@thenews.co.uk.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 1 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
MetzgerPete
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 03:35 PMI know it sounds weird, but has anyone considered hypnosis? I quit smoking in July '09 with the help of a hypnotherpy, and I never looked back! People who want to quit should at least look into it. There's a pretty good blog about it: www.hypnosismiracle.blogspot.com. Check it out sometime!
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.