NHS Lanarkshire’s Quit Your Way service offers free, specialist support to pregnant women, their partners and families who want to quit smoking.
Guiding pregnant women who smoke towards this service is an important and potentially life-saving intervention for both mother and baby.
To support staff further, the Quit Your Way specialist pregnancy team has launched a new Very Brief Advice (VBA) LearnPro module to support all staff who are able to refer or signpost pregnant women who smoke to Ask, Act and Advise confidently. This training module was developed in consultation with expert clinicians, academics and trainers and takes approximately 30-40 minutes to complete.
VBA is a proven intervention to trigger attempts to quit smoking, and by completing this short training module on delivering VBA to pregnant women you will be equipped with the knowledge too:
- Describe the main effects of smoking upon the health of mother and baby
- Understand the patterns and prevalence of smoking among pregnant women
- Understand how and where VBA fits into the care pathway
- Establish smoking status (ASK), including CO screening
- Advise women on the best way of stopping smoking or managing their exposure to smoke (ADVISE)
- Support women to quit or manage their exposure to smoke (ACT)
- Deal with issues as they arise
- Complete a short assessment to consolidate your knowledge
Complete the LearnPro Module by selecting:
- ‘All Elearning’
- ‘CPD’
- ‘NHS Lanark: Very Brief Advice on Smoking for Pregnant Women’
Tracy Henderson, health improvement senior – tobacco control and pregnancy, NHS Lanarkshire, said: “Whether pregnant women have just found out they’re expecting or are further along their pregnancy journey, Quit Your Way’s specialist nurse advisers will support and empower them to quit smoking.
“We provide tailored support, encouragement and free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) which are safe during pregnancy, as well as one-to-one video or phone appointments.
“This module was developed to support staff who engage with pregnant women to be confident to speak to them about their options to quit smoking, and takes no longer than 40 minutes.
“I would encourage staff to take part in this Very Brief Advice Training as the impact of smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke during pregnancy can increase chances of low birth weight, stillbirth, miscarriage and other health issues for mother and baby.”
| Maternal Smoking | Second hand smoke exposure | |
| Low Birthweight | 2 times more likely | Average 30-40g lighter |
| Heart Defects | 9% more likely | Increased risk |
| Stillbirth | 47% more likely | Possible increase |
| Preterm birth | 27% more likely | Increased risk |
| Miscarriage | 32% more likely | Possible increase |
| Sudden Infant Death | 3 times more likely | 45% more likely |
Source: RCP. Hiding in plain sight: treating tobacco dependency in the NHS, 2018; RCP & RCPCH. Passive Smoking and Children, 2010
