More compared to 500 Sunderland mums smoked throughout pregnancy, brand-new healthiness figures released today reveal.
Statistics released by the healthiness and Social Care Guide Centre (HSCIC) reveal that, for 2015/16, there were 505 women that smoked throughout pregnancy from 2,805 births.
That figure functions out at 18% – greater compared to the 2 the north east standard of 16% and the national standard of 10.6%.
In neighbouring South Tyneside the figure was 21.8% – the 3rd highest price in England, behind Blackpool (26%) and North East Lincolnshire (23.5%).
Elsewhere in the north east, Newcastle and Gateshead and North Tyneside had 13.2% rates.
In the previous 12 months, the price of pregnant smokers in Sunderland had stood at 19.4%.
Portfolio Holder for Public Health, Health and wellness and Culture, Councillor John Kelly said: “While the lessen in the lot of pregnant women that smoke in Sunderland is encouraging, there is still a lot job to be done to lesser the numbers still further.
“We are currently functioning along with our regional maternity service to promote more pregnant women to quit, and have actually a lot of community led public healthiness initiatives in put across Sunderland to tips decrease the rate.
“Vital to this is promoting healthiness messages regarding the risks to the 2 baby and mother, and supplying the sort of tips and assist individuals should offer up cigarettes. Our partners at Public healthiness England will certainly be operating a campaign in the summer to promote the importance of not smoking in pregnancy.
“Smoking throughout pregnancy can easily trigger significant pregnancy-related healthiness problems, these contain complications throughout labour and an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth, still birth, reasonable birth-weight and sudden unexpected death in infancy.”
Ailsa Rutter, Director of Fresh Smoke Free North East, said: “Despite the figures showing that the North East still has actually the highest SATOD speeds in England, we as a region have actually been taking a great deal of favorable actions to manage this.
“Because the launch of the babyClear initiative in 2012, we’ve trained up hundreds of front-line maternity staff to talk regarding the dangers of smoking in pregnancy along with expectant mothers, and automatically refer smokers in to free, regional assist to tips them quit.
“We now have actually about 1,500 fewer North East women that smoke in pregnancy, a lose of a quarter.
“It is clear that there is still some method to go to, yet we have actually currently seen several of the biggest drops in SATOD speeds over last 3 years, thanks in no small section to the terrific job by North East midwifery staff and prevent smoking services.
“We strategy to keep on to job along with mothers-to- be to decrease maternal smoking speeds further still.”
