September 07, 2014
Waikato ups pressure on smokers
From today Waikato Hospital is putting the hard word on expectant mums that smoking puts their babies at risk.
The hospital’s Maori support staff, public health doctors, nurses, and midwives are working together on the initiative, which is timed to coincide with next month’s national Stoptober quit smoking initiative.
Women’s Unit midwife manager midwife manager Rachael Kingsbury says the evidence is clear that maternal smoking puts babies at risk in a whole range of ways.
These include low weight at birth to higher rates of stillbirth and cot death, respiratory distress and asthma in later life.
For the mother there is a higher risk of miscarriage, difficulties in childbirth, and longer term illnesses like cancer.
Initiatives include giveaways, information stalls, free carbon dioxide breath testing and personal advice from smoking cessation staff.
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