Hilary Wareing Director, Tobacco Control Collaborating Centre, Warwick
Abstract
Following regional research into barriers faced by midwives when discussing smoking with pregnant women, the North East is implementing a co-ordinated approach to reducing maternal smoking levels across the region. This approach, “babyClear”, has been developed by the Tobacco Control Collaborating Centre (TCCC) and implemented in localities previously, but never on a regional footprint.
babyClear will provide training and resources to front-line staff, supporting a quality, structured pathway for pregnant women to receive stop smoking support; this will cover the period from first booking appointment, through subsequent midwifery appointments, and includes the provision of excellent Stop Smoking Service support. babyClear provides:
- Training to all community midwives to facilitate delivery of a 3-minute intervention at booking. Identifying and referring smokers, and
stressing the dangers of carbon monoxide.
- Identification will be largely based on routine CO monitoring of all women at booking; making CO screening standard midwifery
practice.
- Training a small cohort of midwives to deliver more intensive “risk perception” interventions to pregnant women who continue to smoke
at time of scan appointment.
- Update or full skills training for stop smoking advisors working with pregnant women.
- Training for SSS administrative staff on how to convert pregnancy leads into appointments attended.
- A range of materials (leaflets, CO monitors, referral pads, etc) to support this approach
babyClear is being rolled out by Fresh and the TCCC across the North East in a phased approach in early 2013. This presentation
will focus on some of the challenges of this implementation, the on-going evaluation, and preliminary results from early adopter sites.
Source of funding: babyClear within NE is being funded out of the Fresh regional programme budget, which is itself funded by PCTs/LAs. Additional project funding has been secured from the NE SHA
