SMOKING COMPROMISES NEWBORNS Exposure to smoking in pregnancy is the number one cause of preventable harm to New Zealand children, especially in infancy, undermining approximately 15,000 newborn babies a year. When a newborn baby is born from a smoke-exposed pregnancy it has a high risk of being born compromised due to the exposure of the harmful chemicals while developing in the womb. However not only do cigarettes contain harmful chemicals, they also contain the highly addictive substance – nicotine. Supporting pregnant women who smoke to become smokefree is a specialty area of health services and requires a highly specialised set of skills, experience and understanding. “It’s easy to blame a pregnant woman who smokes and it’s easy to believe that it’s her personal ‘choice’ to smoke or not” say’s Joanna Houston Managing Director of Innov8 Smokefree Ltd. “But the reality is that nicotine is so addictive most people who smoke will have no control over their addiction to cigarettes, and realistically will require personalised professional support and guidance if they want to stop smoking permanently.” Innov8 Smokefree Ltd – formerly known as Smokechange has a kaupapa or purpose to support every pregnant woman who is smoking to become smokefree and to help her protect her unborn baby. “Nicotine makes becoming smokefree for people who smoke extremely difficult to achieve. Add the effects of pregnancy changes, and trying to become smokefree while pregnant can be ten time’s more difficult and demoralising,” Houston say’s. Through the delivery of Innov8 Smokefree Limited’s two highly specialised services: ‘Whaea Manawa ki Otautahi’ and Te Hapū Ora: training for midwives, Innov8 Smokefree places pregnant women who smoke at the heart of their work. Whaea Manawa ki Otautahi is Innov8 Smokefree’s new woman-centred smokefree support service in Canterbury. A personalised service designed to empower and proactively support pregnant women to become smokefree in pregnancy as soon as possible and it’s free. Kelsey Stewart, Service Co-ordinator for Te Hapū Ora says one in three pregnancies are affected by smoking. “Many midwives don’t feel confident approaching the topic of smoking while pregnant or recommending a referral to a cessation service as part of their clinical practice. “How you approach the topic of smoking in pregnancy and your own personal views will often influence the woman to either continue to smoke or understand why they need support to become smokefree,” says Stewart. Te Hapū Ora is designed to support the ABC (ask, brief advice, cessation support) model in midwifery practice, encompassing best-practise standards for cessation support. “The ABC model complements midwifery practice so well” says Stewart. “It allows midwives to confidently address smoking in pregnancy without judgement or having to be the cessation provider; something they are neither trained nor qualified to be,” adds Stewart. As well as learning about the ABC approach, the Te Hapū Ora workshop comprises of group activities, discussions and the use of multimedia. Stewart says that as part of the workshop training, midwives will be given exclusively designed resources to support their midwifery practice and are awarded training points.” A key feature of the Te Hapū Ora is the peer-to-peer training model it is based upon. Specific practising midwives known as the Te Hapū Ora: Clinical Link Champions are trained exclusively by Innov8 Smokefree to deliver the Te Hapū Ora workshops to the midwifery profession. Canterbury has two Clinical Link Champions who between the both of them deliver the Te Hapū Ora workshops across the upper South Island. Midwives Lynda Dalton and Ann McKeever deliver workshops to practising midwives across Canterbury in addition to their main role as a practising midwife. “Their passion and empathy in understanding nicotine addiction is crucial to the role,” says Stewart. As Clinical Link Champions, Lynda and Ann are a part of our National team who train midwives, to help and support pregnant woman (and partners) who smoke, and in Canterbury refer them to the Whaea Manawa service personalised support,” Stewart says.  To refer to Whaea Manawa www.whaeamanawa.co.nz  To register for a Te Hapū Ora workshop visit www.tehapuora.co.nz or contact Kelsey Stewart [email protected] 027 252 2013 phone: 0800 226 242 or visit More information can be found about these services at www.innov8smokefree.co.nz