General:

• Second-hand smoking is dangerous, especially for children. The best way to protect loved ones is to quit smoking.  At the very least make sure you have a smokefree home and car.

Smokefree Home:

• A smokefree home protects your loved ones
• Smoking in the home will have an impact on everyone living and visiting that home. Toxins within cigarette smoke can remain within the home for 5 hours and can easily spread from room to room even with the doors closed.
• By stopping smoking, you’ll help to protect your non-smoking friends and family, too.
• Breathing in secondhand smoke increases the risk of lung cancer, heart disease and stroke.
• In children, it doubles the risk of getting chest illnesses, including pneumonia, ear infections, wheezing and asthma. They also have 3 times the risk of getting lung cancer in later life compared with children who live with non-smokers.

 

Passive Smoking:

• When friends and family breathe in your secondhand smoke it isn't just unpleasant for them, it can damage their health too.
• People who breathe in secondhand smoke regularly are more likely to get the same diseases as smokers, including lung cancer and heart disease.

 

Children and passive smoking:

• Passive smoking is especially harmful for children as they have less well-developed airways, lungs and immune systems.
• Children who live in a household where at least 1 person smokes are more likely to develop:

• asthma
• chest infections – like pneumonia and bronchitis
• meningitis
• ear infections
• coughs and colds

• Children are particularly vulnerable in the family car where secondhand smoke can reach hazardous levels even with the windows open.
• To protect children, a ban on smoking in cars and other vehicles carrying children was introduced in October 2015. It is now against the law to smoke in a private vehicle if there’s a young person under 18 present. 

Healthy Lifestyle Services – One You Walsall:

• One You Walsall is a free healthy lifestyle servicededicated to improving the health and wellbeing of all residents across Walsall in making great choices for a more positive lifestyle.
• Services include: physical activity; healthy eating; weight loss; emotional wellbeing; welfare; alcohol reduction; quitting smoking; and NHS Health Checks.
• The team supports everyone - adults, families and workplaces – and also can help to find the right support.

 

One You Walsall: 01922 444 044 Mon to Fri 9am to 6pm

https://www.oneyouwalsall.com/

 

Links:

• https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/quit-smoking/passive-smoking-protect-your-family-and-friends/#:~:text=When%20friends%20and%20family%20breathe,lung%20cancer%20and%20heart%20disease.

 

• Visit nhs.uk/live-well/quit-smokingto find out about the stop smoking treatments available on the NHS and find out how to get started with stopping smoking. 

• NHS stop smoking services 
• Take steps NOW to stop smoking 
• 10 self-help tips to stop smoking 
• Stop smoking without putting on weight 
• What to do if you relapse after quitting 
• Coping with cravings 

• Lifestyle Services – One You Walsall

https://www.oneyouwalsall.com/ 01922 444044 – patients can self-refer from your website by contacting One You Walsall directly

 

• National Smokefree App - Update the smokefree app messaging at the bottom - https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/

 

• https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stop-smoking-treatments/

 

• https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/ 

 

Other: 

• Smokefree Homes Campaign – West Midlands Fire Service

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jto3vNCbJRE 

 

• https://go.walsall.gov.uk/news/news_details/birchills-in-walsall-backs-smokefree-campaign-at-school-gates

 

Preconception Support Webpages

Preparing for pregnancy

Topics to include on Practice webpages (more detail and suggested text below) Suggested campaigns for the practice to support ae listed below

• The whole family quitting smoking preconceptually
• Support for mental health
• Healthy lifestyles – support to become a healthy weight before pregnancy
• Vitamin and mineral supplementation eg. Healthy Start
• Healthy Start Food Vouchers for eligible families 

1. Stopping Smoking

https://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/blogs-and-stories/im-pregnant/pregnancy-news-and-blogs/new-planning-pregnancy-tool-launched-support-safe-and-healthy-pregnancies 

Provide link to Tommys site above and point below but webpages need to have a specific reference to the importance of quitting smoking preconceptually without the reader being required to click another link 

It is ideal if you and your partner can stop smoking at least four months before getting pregnant but stopping at any point really helps. For local help to quit smoking, please call One You Walsall | Mytime Active

01922 444 044 Mon to Fri 9am to 6pm

For more information about how smoking affects both the mother, father and baby please see

How smoking affects female and male fertility | Tommy's (tommys.org)

https://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/im-pregnant/smoking-and-pregnancy/risks-secondhand-smoke -

 

2. Mental Health Support

 

Pregnancy can be a time of joy and expectation but can bring feelings of anxiety. You do not need to struggle alone. It is important to talk to friends, your midwife, the Health in Pregnancy team, your GP or to the below;

1. Walsall Talking Therapy Service (NHS Talking Therapies)

 

NHS talking therapies can help you if you’re struggling to cope with feelings of anxiety or depression. Rest assured it’s totally confidential. You can self-refer by calling 0800 953 0995, emailing talkingtherapies.walsall@nhs.net, or complete a form online at https://www.blackcountryhealthcare.nhs.uk/walsall-talking-therapies

Find out more: www.nhs.uk/talk

 

1. Walsall Pregnancy Help (WPH)

WPH offer a specialist service relative to pregnancy (Walsall Pregnancy Help) and a general counselling service and educational service (WPH Counselling and Education Services). Their services are totally unbiased and are there to meet the needs of all, Appointments can be arranged either through direct referral from statutory organisations or by telephone contact or email. Telephone: 01922 649000 Email: wphcounselling@btconnect.com

http://www.wphcounselling.org/

 

For further information about supporting your mental health before, during and after pregnancy, see

https://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/im-pregnant/mental-wellbeing/mental-health-during-and-after-pregnancy

 

3. Healthy Lifestyles Services

 

(includes support for healthy weight, safe alcohol intake, quitting smoking before pregnancy

1. One You Walsall is a free healthy lifestyle servicededicated to improving the health and wellbeing of all residents across Walsall. Our services are here to help you make great choices in your lifestyle including: physical activity; healthy eating; weight loss; emotional wellbeing; welfare; alcohol reduction; quitting smoking; NHS Health Checks. The team can support everyone – adults, families and workplaces – and are also here to help you to find the right support. For more information:

One You Walsall | Mytime Active

01922 444 044 Mon to Fri 9am to 6pm

www.mytimeactive.co.uk/one-you-walsall

https://www.oneyouwalsall.com/

 

Online resources

https://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller.html

https://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/hydration.html

 

• Healthy Start Vitamins and Food Vouchers for eligible families

If you’re pregnant or have children under the age of 4 you can get free vouchers or payments every 4 weeks to spend on:

• cow’s milk
• fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables
• infant formula milk
• fresh, dried, and tinned pulses
• Get help to buy food and milk

You can also get free Healthy Start vitamins.

 

Healthy Start Vitamins and Vitamin Supplementation

Eating a healthy, varied diet in pregnancy will help you get most of the vitamins and minerals you need. But when you’re pregnant, or there’s a chance you might get pregnant, it’s important to also take a folic acid supplement. It’s recommended that you take:

• 400 micrograms of folic acid every day – from before you’re pregnant until you’re 12 weeks pregnant

This is to reduce the risk of problems in the baby’s development in the early weeks of pregnancy.

It is also recommended that you take a daily vitamin D supplement.

https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/vitamins-supplements-and-nutrition 

Healthy Start vitamins contain both folic acid and Vit D. It is possible to buy these even if you are not eligible to the free vitamins

Your midwife can direct you to the national site to claim your vitamins. Your local pharmacist will be able to provide and advice on vitamins required when planning a pregnancy.