Smoking in pregnancy: think before you spark

July 9, 2010 - PRLog -- We all know that smoking in pregnancy is harmful to both mum and baby, but this knowledge doesn’t necessarily make quitting any easier for the women concerned. Many pregnant women still find it difficult to quit because the damage caused by every drag is invisible until it is too late.

NICE to know that help is at hand

More help for pregnant women to stop smoking is at hand, thanks to new guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) about quitting smoking in pregnancy and after childbirth. The guidelines recommend carrying out routine carbon monoxide (CO) breath testing for all expectant mothers.

CO is a colourless, odourless gas contained in cigarette smoke. It displaces oxygen in the blood, which means that vital organs, such as the heart and lungs, receive only a very restricted supply. This oxygen deficiency can lead to disease, organ failure and ultimately death, earning CO its well deserved nickname, ‘the silent killer’. When a pregnant mother smokes, the baby smokes too: clinical proof that smoking in pregnancy greatly increases the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, still-birth and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome has been common knowledge for many years.

Making the invisible killer visible

A CO breath test makes the invisible killer visible, helping to motivate an individual to stop smoking. The test measures the concentration of toxic CO in a single exhaled breath. Results are displayed either as an exact reading, or using an LED display that lights up according to the level of CO detected. This gives smokers visible evidence of the harm they are doing to their body; and in the case of expectant mothers, the damage being caused to the baby, too.

Recent clinical studies have found a direct link between expectant mothers’ breath CO levels and the amount of harmful carboxyhaemoglobin in the baby’s blood. A CO breath test can therefore be used to show the potential effects of smoking on the foetus – a powerful motivational aid to kick the habit.

How will the CO breath test be carried out?

The new NICE guidelines recommend routine CO testing from the very first maternal booking. Relevant medical staff will be given proper training to deal with each individual in a sensitive and supportive way.

The most popular brand of carbon monoxide monitors is Smokerlyzer, produced by Bedfont Scientific Ltd. in Rochester, Kent. There is even a Smokerlyzer created especially for women trying to quit smoking during pregnancy – the babyCOmpact. Handheld, lightweight and accurate, the babyCOmpact is affordable enough for home use and gives instant results, clearly displayed using green (little or no CO), amber (‘danger zone’) or red (high CO) LEDs. Monitoring CO levels in smoking cessation is a clinically-proven, effective motivational aid to help people stay smoke free for good.

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BREATH ANALYSIS IS THE NEW BLOOD TEST –
Bedfont Scientific Ltd is an award-winning worldwide market leader in breath gas analysers for medical applications.
Smokerlyzer handheld CO monitors are the global benchmark in smoking cessation, the NObreath FENO monitor is a revolutionary monitor for airway inflammation in asthma, and the Gastro+ is an indispensible hydrogen monitor for gastrointestinal disorders including lactose malabsorption.
With over 30 years' experience in its field, Bedfont is a small company with a big global presence. Bedfont’s experienced research and development team is passionate about finding quick, simple and non-invasive solutions for a variety of medical disorders.