A CANCER charity has called on the Scottish Government to make helping pregnant women stop smoking a key focus of its new tobacco control strategy.
Cancer Research UK said ensuring expectant mothers can access local stop smoking services gives them the best chance of quitting the habit.
The call follows the publication of official statistics showing the number of women in Scotland smoking at the time of their first antenatal appointment has fallen to 15 per cent in 2016/17, a total of 7809 women and a drop of nearly a third (29 per cent) since 1997/98.
Cancer Research UK’s prevention expert, Professor Linda Bauld, said: “It’s encouraging to see the number of mums-to-be who smoke gradually declining in Scotland. However, the decline has been slow and there are big differences between groups, with smoking rates higher among teenage mums and women from more deprived areas.
“Stopping smoking helps reduce the risk of complications in pregnancy, and the likelihood of stillbirths or cot death. And it also reduces the risk of smoking-related cancers later in a mother’s life. We need to do all we can to make sure pregnant women can access local stop smoking services.
“These services offer women the best chance of kicking the habit, including supporting women who have tried other options and may consider using an e-cigarette in their quit attempt.”
The data shows an increasing number of mothers-to-be are overweight, with 51 per cent in Scotland in 2016/17 overweight or obese at their antenatal appointment.
Hospital records on stillbirths show an increase for the second year running to 209 in 2016/17 and the researchers said the reason for the rise “isn’t yet clear”.
The trend for women having their first child at an older age continues, with the majority (53 per cent) of first-time mothers over the age of 30.
The peak maternal age for first births is lower in Scotland’s most deprived areas at 23, compared with 31 in the least deprived areas.
More babies are born in poorer places, with areas in the two most deprived categories counting for 46 per cent of pregnancies in 2016/17 while places in the two most affluent categories had 35 per cent.
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