6 days ago
Cheshire and Merseyside pregnant smokers at record low
In Cheshire and Merseyside, the percentage of expectant mothers smoking has dropped from 10 per cent to 6.5 per cent.
This marks a significant improvement in maternal health and brings the region closer to the national average.
The latest figures were released on Thursday, June 19 by NHS Digital and reflect the impact of dedicated support programmes.
Catherine McClennan, programme director for the women's health and maternity programme at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, said: "Every baby deserves a smokefree future, and it is fantastic to see this reduction in the number of pregnant people smoking both nationally and in our subregion.
"In Cheshire and Merseyside, 6.5 per cent of women now smoke during pregnancy, down from 10 per cent just two years ago.
"Ideally we would like this number to be zero, so there is still more work to be done, but we are quickly closing the gap between our sub-region and the rest of the country."
The success is attributed to the All Together Smoke Free Programme, which includes the Smoking in Pregnancy (SiP) project.
This initiative offers personalised support to help pregnant women quit smoking.
Cheryl Rogers, a mum-of-two from Runcorn, quit smoking during her second pregnancy with help from the Smokefree programme.
She said: "I started smoking when I was in my teens and, although I cut down when I was pregnant the first time, I didn't manage to give up.
"This time, when I was expecting Thomas, I knew I was already higher risk due to being slightly older so I didn't want to increase this any further by smoking."
Smoking during pregnancy is the most preventable risk factor and is linked to around 5,300 fetal and perinatal deaths each year in the UK.
Dr Sarah McNulty, director of public health at Knowsley Council and lead director for Smoke Free Cheshire and Merseyside, said: "Our vision is for every baby to be born smokefree, and to support families smokefree to stay smokefree into the first 12 months of babies' lives and beyond."
