Protecting your baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things you can do to give your child a healthy start in life. It can be difficult to stop smoking, but it’s never too late to quit. 

Stopping smoking will help both you and your baby immediately. Harmful gases, such as carbon monoxide, and other damaging chemicals will clear from your body.  

Stopping smoking now will also help your baby later in life. Children whose parents smoke are more likely to suffer from asthma and other serious illnesses that may need hospital treatment. 

The sooner you stop smoking, the better. But even if you stop in the last few weeks of your pregnancy this will benefit you and your baby. 

If you or anyone in your household smokes at the time of your first appointment with the midwife (booking appointment) your midwife will refer you to the stop smoking service unless you decline. Your midwife will also test your carbon monoxide levels at the booking appointment or shortly after if your booking appointment is over the telephone. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that has no smell or taste and exposure to high levels can be harmful to you and your baby. This will be repeated when you are around 35-36 weeks pregnant. If you are a smoker the midwife will offer to test your carbon monoxide levels at each appointment. 

More information can be found below: 

Stop smoking in pregnancy (nhs.uk) - Information about smoking during pregnancy.

If you are planning to get pregnant or are pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all. 

Drinking in pregnancy can lead to long-term harm to the baby, with the more you drink the greater the risk. There is no safe time or safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy.

More information can be found below:

Drinking alcohol while pregnant (nhs.uk) - Information about drinking alcohol while pregnant.