Smoking in pregnancy
Smoke free for you and me.
Every step towards a deadly pregnancy counts when it comes to a healthy bub and mum.
Making the Deadly Choice to quit smoking and vaping can help create deadlier, healthier families for our Mob.
At all stages of pregnancy, including pre-conception and post-partum, tobacco and vape use can have a harmful effect on both mum and bub’s health.
You can find support for your quit journey at all stages of pregnancy.
Support is available through:
- Your local Community Controlled Health Service
- Your General Practitioner (GP) and midwife
- Quitline, who offer Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander counsellors and free, specialised support programs for both mum and partner.
- Call Quitline on 13 78 48.
Pre-conception
Thinking about starting a family?
Quitting can help give your family the best start.
Our bodies are strong and begin to heal quickly when we quit smoking and vaping, with benefits being seen almost immediately.
Fertility can begin to improve for both partners after quitting, making conception more likely and decreasing the risk of pregnancy complications (including miscarriage and still birth).
Continuing to smoke or vape can make it more difficult to get pregnant by negatively effecting the fertility of both parents. Sperm and eggs can be damaged by cigarette and vape toxins, reducing the chance of conceiving.
During pregnancy
During pregnancy, every step towards being smoke free supports bub’s health and wellbeing.
Quitting smoking and vaping can help keep your bub strong and deadly and can be beneficial at all stages of pregnancy.
When mum smokes, bub does too. This means bub is also absorbing all the harmful chemicals and toxins and can develop a nicotine addiction.
Nicotine is the addictive chemical found in cigarettes and vapes, but there are other harmful toxins such as ammonia, battery acid and petrol that can cause harm.
Smoking during pregnancy can lead to a wide range of complications, including low birth weight, heart disease, asthma, stroke, high blood pressure, premature birth, stillbirth, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and illness for both.
Quitting before pregnancy is the deadliest choice for both mum and bub’s health, but there are benefits to quitting at all stages.
Simply reducing the amount of cigarettes or vapes used during pregnancy is still harmful, quitting completely is always the best choice.
Creating smoke free environments can also help to give mum and bub a healthy pregnancy by reducing the risk of passive smoking. Find out more about how you can support a mother to quit below.
The benefits of being smoke free during pregnancy are reduced risks of low birth weight and premature birth and allow more oxygen and nutrients to support bub’s growth and development.
Post-partum
Choosing to stay smoke-free after birth is a powerful way to nurture bub’s growth and wellbeing.
Staying smoke-free gives bub the best start to life and ensures mum is her healthiest self to care for a little one.
Not smoking or vaping improves mum’s life expectancy, lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer and saves money. Find out more about the benefits of quitting.
If mum begins smoking or vaping again after birth, bub can still consume nicotine and other harmful toxins through breast milk and passive smoke*. This can lead to the development of a nicotine addiction and ongoing chronic health issues (including asthma, bronchitis and other lung conditions) for bub.
There are so many benefits to staying smoke free!
Passive smoking, vaping and bub
Making the choice to quit is deadly for the health of you and bub, it’s also important to ensure you’re mindful about the environments you’re in and reducing the risk from passive smoke.
Passive Smoke
Passive smoke is when a person inhales toxins from cigarettes and vapes from somebody or something nearby.
Second-hand smoke
Occurs when a person inhales smoke exhaled by a smoker or from the end of a burning cigarette.3 Passive smoke is when a person inhales toxins from cigarettes and vapes from somebody or something nearby.
Third-hand smoke
Occurs when inhaling tobacco smoke that has been absorbed in objects and surfaces, such as clothing, hair, furniture, walls, carpets, fabrics and toys. When a person smokes in a confined space such as a car or room, the smoke leaves chemicals on surfaces and attaches to dust, which can also contain nicotine.4
Vapes
Going vape free will also help give your bub the best start to life.
It has already been found that some vaping devices contain high levels of nicotine, equating to the same amounts contained in 20 packets of cigarettes.1 This makes vapes highly addictive. We also know vapes can cause acute lung injury, increase the risk of chronic disease, and may cause cancer.
Smoke Free Support
For Mum
Starting your smoke free journey.
Below is important information to support you when you’re ready to go smoke free for you and bub!
Creating a deadly support network
Having a deadly support network can make quitting easier. A support network is a group of trusted individuals who help you reach your goals by offering ongoing support during your quit journey.
Examples of support people:
- Friends
- Family
- Partner
- Mums & Bubs group
- Local tobacco champion
- Community Controlled Health Service worker
- Your Midwife
- GP or Doctor
Yarning with your Mob about your quit journey and why you are choosing to quit can help them to understand your reasons for quitting. Asking those close to you to help keep you on track, motivated and to not smoke around you, can be more helpful than you may realise.
Where to get Smoke Free Support
Don’t be shame, reach out for professional support to stay smoke free.
Quit support is free, confidential and available for all stages of pregnancy (including pre-inception and post-partum).
Support is available through:
- Your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Service
- Your General Practitioner (GP) and midwife
- Quitline, who offer free, specialised support programs for both mum and partner. Access here or call 13 78 48.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy in pregnancy
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is a treatment to help people quit smoking.
It works by supplying a dose of nicotine (without the other toxins) to help the user manage cravings.
The treatment can be delivered through a variety of options, including gum, lozenges, patches, sprays and inhalers.
Nicotine metabolises faster during pregnancy, especially around the 18-week gestation period, meaning mum may experience more frequent cravings.6
NRT can be an effective aid in a successful quit journey, especially when combined with additional support. It can be used in pregnancy, but it is best to try cold turkey first.
Yarn with your GP or midwife to discuss what methods of NRT are best for you.
Prescription medications varenicline (Champix) and bupropion (Zyban) are not safe for use during pregnancy.
Find out more about going smoke free. At all stages of pregnancy, including pre-conception and post-partum, tobacco and vape use can have a harmful effect on both mum and bub’s health.
For support network
Supporting a deadly mum
Showing support for a loved one’s quit journey is always important, especially when individuals are, or are trying to become pregnant.
Support for mum can be shown in many different ways.
- Have open and supportive yarns about their quit journey and their reasons for quitting.
- Don’t smoke or vape around them.
- Remove potential triggers for smoking or vaping in their regular environments (ash trays, lighters, cigarette packets, vapes).
- Help them navigate stressful scenarios as stress is often a major trigger for cravings.
- Clean your space, including washing fabric items to remove the smell of cigarettes and harmful impacts of third hand smoke
- Encourage gentle movement (swimming, walking, stretching) to release endorphins and distract from cravings.
- Be patient, navigating quitting is difficult and support from loved ones is vital to a successful quit journey.
Information for partners
An entirely smoke and vape-free environment is always the deadliest choice for both mum and bub. This doesn’t just mean mum staying smoke-free.
But also removing second and third-hand smoke from frequented areas (including the home, car and workplace).
As a partner, staying smoke-free and maintaining a smoke-free environment for mum helps to reduce triggers for nicotine cravings, making for a healthier, deadlier bub and mum.
Free, specialised support programs are available through Quitline for both mums and partners at all stages of pregnancy (including before and after pregnancy).
You can access Quitline here or contact them on 13 78 48.
You can also contact your local Community Controlled Health Service for support during your quit journey.
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