Almost 6% of pregnant women in Greater Manchester were known to be smokers at the time of delivery in 2024 according to ONS data.
The average number of women known to have smoked while pregnant across England was 6.2% between April and September in 2024 – with 929 of these women living in Greater Manchester.
The rate of pregnant smoking was below national average in seven of the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs and above average in three – with 6.6% of pregnant women in Salford and Tameside known to be smokers at time of delivery.
Smoking while pregnant can cause many health complications to unborn children, and NHS England has been working to reduce the rate of pregnant smokers over the years through various initiatives.
Kate Brintworth, Chief Midwifery Officer for NHS England, said: “It is extremely encouraging to see that the number of pregnant women smoking has reached the lowest level ever, in part thanks to our brilliant teams of midwives and the specialist support we provide to expectant mums through our maternity services.
“We want to help even more pregnant women to kick the habit and will continue to provide dedicated support to anyone accessing our maternity services – so if you are considering having a baby or recently pregnant and looking for support to quit, please do speak to your maternity team, they are here to help.
“Smoking rates in pregnancy are at an all-time low thanks to initiatives and support from NHS teams like the Smokefree Pregnancy Programme in Greater Manchester. This year also saw the biggest annual fall in smoking in pregnancy since records began.
“But there is still more to do to protect families. The rollout of a similar scheme nationally will ensure we can continue to build on this work so that all mothers and babies, no matter where they live in England, are protected from the dangerous health impacts of smoking and passive smoking during pregnancy.”
Featured image: Photo by Irina Iriser on Unsplash
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