New support for mums-to-be

Date: 19 July 2010

Mums-to-be in Ayrshire and Arran are being offered a new service with the introduction of three specialist midwives. They will provide support and advice on alcohol and tobacco use to pregnant women, their partners and close family members.

Elaine Humphrey (East Ayrshire), Gillian Scott (North Ayrshire) and Lorna Fulton (South Ayrshire) offer specialist support to reflect individual needs. They also help co-ordinate services and deliver training in brief interventions for other midwives based in both the hospital and community setting - a brief intervention is a conversation between a health practitioner and a patient about the hazardous or harmful use of alcohol or tobacco.

It is normal for all pregnant women to be asked questions about tobacco and alcohol intake when they first come along to antenatal services. If it is thought that additional services need to be offered, our midwives will refer them to the appropriate people. All women who are identified as smoking or exposed to second hand smoke are offered referral to the specialist midwife.

Our specialist midwives all agree that this gives mums-to-be the opportunity to provide the best start for their babies, saying: “We feel that raising awareness of alcohol and tobacco in pregnancy for both staff and pregnant women is an exciting opportunity to improve the health and well-being of pregnant women in Ayrshire.”

Susan Wilson, Public Health Practitioner, East Ayrshire Community Health Partnership said: “The first three months in the post has been a busy time for our specialist midwives. However, they have already been receiving referrals and collating figures on brief interventions for Ayrshire and Arran. Carbon monoxide monitoring, which indicates whether or not the mother is a smoker, has also been introduced for all pregnant women attending a booking appointment within Ayrshire and Arran. All women complete a screening questionnaire about their alcohol intake and any woman consuming alcohol receives an alcohol brief intervention.”

In Scotland it is estimated that at the time of their first antenatal booking visit:

• 24.6 per cent of women were drinking (Alcohol Statistics Scotland)
• 19.6 per cent of women were smoking (2006 – 2008 Scottish neighbourhood statistics website) – the figure for Ayrshire and Arran is higher at 27.3 per cent.

 
The funding for the specialist midwives post is shared by Fresh Air-shire, NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s smoking cessation service, and the Scottish Government Alcohol funding allocated to each health board. 

Date of release:  Friday 16 July 2010 

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