Smoking is the most common preventable risk factor for pregnancy complications. Quitting is important and beneficial for women and babies when planning a pregnancy, during pregnancy and into the postpartum period. Pregnancy is a time when women are more likely to quit smoking than at any other time of life. Health professionals can harness this clinically important opportunity and ask women and their families at any stage of pregnancy about smoking, provide education about the benefits of stopping smoking in pregnancy, and encourage and support quitting.
The recommended first-line treatment for smoking cessation during pregnancy is non-pharmacological intervention such as multi-session behavioural counselling provided by Quitline. If women are unable to quit smoking using non-pharmacological interventions alone, or have moderate to high levels of nicotine dependence, then nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in conjunction with behavioural intervention may be considered in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Health professionals can partner with Quitline to ensure patients receive the best smoking cessation support throughout pregnancy. This infographic explains Quitline and patients can be referred directly using this form. It's important to note that patients don’t need to ‘be ready’ to quit for a Quitline referral to be made.
Quitline offers a free, confidential, evidence-based telephone counselling service tailored to support smoking cessation during pregnancy. Quitline provides an extended call-back service to support women at every stage – when planning pregnancy, during pregnancy and postpartum when the risk of returning to smoking is high. Quitline can also support partners and families, and being able to access a counselling service from the comfort of their own home may appeal to pregnant women and new parents. Quitline also provides feedback to health professionals (with patient's consent) on the referral and patient progress.
Quit Centre has developed a range of resources for health professionals about smoking in pregnancy including a Smoking and Pregnancy Factsheet; a clinical guideline and online training for maternity care professionals.