Review Paper
Year: 2020 | Month: September | Volume: 7 | Issue: 9 | Pages: 278-286
Critical Analysis of Pregnant Women Smokers Accessing ‘Smoking Cessation’ Services in Wales
Marian Olamide Owoniyi1, Grace Temitayo Okeya2
1Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cardiff, Wales.
2Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. Liverpool, England.
Corresponding Author: Marian Olamide Owoniyi
ABSTRACT
The problem of smoking in pregnancy has remained a challenge to both public health professionals and the Government with the low uptake of smoking cessation services by pregnant women. Despite the evidence base for smoking cessation, services have neither been implemented consistently nor robustly across Wales. Hence the need to develop a service improvement project like ‘Models for Access to Maternal Smoking Cessation Support’ (MAMSS) to provide new ways of supporting pregnant women who smoke, alongside the current national Stop Smoking Services.
The aim of the study is to critically analyse how pregnant women smokers are accessing smoking cessation services in Wales.
The need for suitable training was reported amongst health professionals involved in providing smoking cessation service for pregnant women smokers. Most clients wanted to reduce and not stop smoking; also available opportunities were important in determining the ability to access and deliver services, with the use of Nicotine Therapy positively influencing the receptiveness of the pregnant women. Midwives were however reluctant to create an image of enforcing smoking cessation and a holistic approach was advocated by some staff members to encourage health education and health promotion. Overall, a specialist service such as that provided by the MAMSS project was viewed as appropriate.
Staff members understood their roles and the advantages of Nicotine Therapy in encouraging pregnant women to quit smoking. Specialist midwives made positive impacts on the pregnant smoker’s receptiveness to smoking cessation support. Both staff and pregnant women acknowledged that accessibility and flexibility of service were key determinants of service delivery and service uptake, whilst incorporating an approach that is supportive rather than enforcing.
Keywords: Smoking cessation, Midwives, Health promotion, Health inequalities and Nicotine Therapy
[PDF Full Text]