Program aims to reduce number of smoking pregnant women

Resources for pregnant women wanting to quit smoking are increasing in Butler County.

The program Baby and Me Tobacco Free has been piloted for the last year in Butler County for women who are clients of Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and High Hopes, said Jennifer Bailer, nursing director at Butler County Health Department.

A third site will be offered later this year once the county’s first Centering Pregnancy program opens at Dr. Robert Arrom’s Center for Women’s Health in Fairfield.

In the last three months, nearly 30 pregnant women have started the program, with about five choosing to follow through with stopping smoking, Bailer said.

Women are enrolled while pregnant and see a counselor four times during pregnancy. The women agree on a quit date, and if they stay smoke free — measured by a carbon monoxide monitor — they receive $25 a month for a year for diapers.

“The goal is to improve birth outcomes and health of moms and babies,” Bailer said.

Nationally, the percent of women who smoked during pregnancy has declined by 48 percent from 1990 to 2008. In 1990, a reported 18.4 percent of women smoked during pregnancy — which declined to 9.5 percent by 2008, according to the American Lung Association.

Ohio hasn’t mirrored that trend as positively. In 1990, 25 percent of mothers reported smoking during pregnancy. The last year of data available for the state was 2005 with 17.4 percent, according to the American Lung Association.

Smoking during pregnancy can cause premature birth or low birth weight, certain birth defects such as cleft lip, and infant death, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Women who smoke during pregnancy are also more likely than other women to have a miscarriage.

Bailer said there are currently 18 billboards up across Butler County targeting pregnant women that will stay up through July.

For more information or to make a referral, contact Sarah Saylor at 513-868-2100, ext. 231 or email SSaylor@envisionpartnerships.com.

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