Hastings '˜above average' for number of pregnant women smoking

Hastings is above the national average with 14.3 to 26 per cent of new mums admitting to lighting up.

The NHS data shows that the average number of smoking mothers across England is down to an all-time low - less than 11 per cent.

The statistics assess which Clinical Commissioning Groups are meeting the 11 per cent target, and of the 209 CCGs, 49 per cent achieved this. However, three per cent had smoking rates of over 20 per cent. Across England there were still 67,195 women who were smokers at the time they gave birth.

An NHS spokesperson said: “Smoking during pregnancy can cause serious pregnancy-related health problems. These include complications during labour and an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, low birth-weight and sudden unexpected death in infancy.”

Reducing smoking during pregnancy to 11 per cent or less was one of the aims of 2011’s Tobacco Control Plan.

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