0800 840 1628 • Monday - Friday 9am - 6:30pm

Contact Us

Pregnancy and smoking

Smoking during pregnancy can be harmful for both mum and baby, so protecting them and you from cigarette smoke is one of the best things you can do for their health and yours.

Every cigarette you smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, and each time you have a cigarette your baby is exposed to the same chemicals. Some of these chemicals can restrict the essential oxygen supply to your baby, which means their heart has to beat harder to supply them with enough oxygen every time you have a cigarette. Smoking in pregnancy has been linked with low birth weight, still birth and premature labour, all of which can cause complications for your baby.

Although stopping smoking can be difficult, many women are motivated to give up cigarettes when they find out they are expecting. You can use most NRT during pregnancy if it will help you stop smoking, and you're unable to stop without it, although you can't access Champix or Zyban. If you're suffering from morning sickness, patches might work best for you. 

A range of support is available for pregnant women who would like to quit smoking. Across Dorset, there is a Smoking in Pregnancy Support Service, run by qualified midwives. They can support you to quit smoking and provide you with appropriate Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). You should be able to contact your midwife and ask about accessing the service. Pregnant women are also recommended to avoid  liquorice flavoured NRT products.

Quit Together

We able to help you and your partner quit smoking. We provide 1:1 Wellness Coaching alongside helping you access NRT through a local pharmacy. However, the midwifery team are best placed to help pregnant women stop smoking. Get in touch with a member of our team today to discuss how we can support you.

Wherever you are in Dorset you can access a Smoking in Pregnancy Support Service to help you quit smoking. The services are run by qualified midwives who have completed specialist training to support you to give up smoking. You are four times more likely to remain smoke free with the 1-1 support the midwives can provide along with Nicotine Replacement Therapy. The midwife who completes your booking will refer you to the relevant service so they can offer you support right from the start of your pregnancy.

Katy

You've got to believe that you can do it wholeheartedly. It's important that you do it for yourself, and that you have the self-belief that you can just do it. Stick at it, you'll never look back!

View full story

How does this work?

The tailored approach LiveWell Dorset uses to come up with solutions to the things that are stopping us achieving our goals, is based upon work done by University College London developing the COM-B model of behaviour change. In this model, all behaviour is influenced by understanding a person’s capability to change, their opportunity to change and their motivation to change. By understanding which of these is the biggest barrier to change, we can tailor support accordingly. This model of behaviour change is at the centre of the support we offer, online and in person.

Your Favourites?

or register, to favourite activities that you want to try.

Welcome!

Is this the first time that you've used our services, or have you already registered with us? To allow us to best serve you, please confirm whether you're new to LiveWell Dorset, or if you've spoken to us before and may have an existing account.

Welcome back, it's good to hear from you again!

To speak to one of our dedicated team and get the help you require please request a call back. All call backs from this service are free of charge to both landlines and mobile.

Request a Call Back

Do you provide your consent to share your information with the LiveWell Dorset team – part of Public Health Dorset ?

When you register with LiveWell Dorset, we ask you some questions about you and your health (how much you smoke, how active you are, how much you drink and how much you weigh). We store that information and use it to shape our service offer to you – such as the advice we give or the extra services we connect you to. The only people who will see this information will be those involved in the delivery of the service and management of the data. If you would like to use extra services (such as slimming clubs and pharmacies) we have to share this information with them. For us to be able to put you in touch with these services, we must have your consent to share that information with the service (we’ll ask for that later, when if you sign up for extra services).

Before we can sign you up any further, we need to know:

  • You're happy for your personal information to be shared with LiveWell Dorset.
  • You understand what information may be shared and why, and that at times, our contact to you may be supported by technology partners, who have the same data protection standards and safeguards as we do
  • You acknowledge that you can withdraw your consent at any time by informing LiveWell Dorset.
  • You understand that if you do not give consent or withdraw consent then it could be difficult for us to connect you some of the services we offer.

If you require any more information to help you make your choice then please contact the LiveWell Dorset team on 0800 840 1628. All telephone conversations at LiveWell Dorset are recorded for quality and training purposes, and stored whilst you are registered as active within the service.

Yes I consent

Sorry we can't continue at the moment

Unfortunately we need your permission to store your personal information to help us to assess the best support we could provide or signpost you to. If at any stage you change your mind and are happy to provide your personal information please come back and visit us again.