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Real life stories

Hannah was referred to a Stop Smoking Practitioner who took a Carbon Monoxide (CO) reading and talked her through the different options for stopping smoking, including using Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). At first Hannah was concerned about using NRT and wanted to be reassured that it’s safe in pregnancy. Her Stop Smoking Practitioner provided lots of helpful information.

Hannah gave the nicotine patches and mints a go to see if they would help. She didn’t like the taste of the mints but the patches were helping her lots – in fact, she was so confident she was over her nicotine dependency that she stopped using them. Unfortunately, she learnt that stopping NRT too soon can lead to a smoking relapse.

 I thought ‘I don’t need this patch any more. I don’t actually need it’. Because I forgot to put one on one day and I didn’t need a cigarette, so I got a bit brazen and thought ‘I didn’t need them anymore’ but I did.

Hannah is now using the nicotine patch and would like to get to the point where she is not smoking at all again.

 

 

Ashleigh knew it wouldn't be easy because she enjoyed smoking so much. Plus, her job meant she was often around people who smoked. She visited her local Stop Smoking Service and was offered Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). Ashleigh was dubious to begin with - as it meant she would still be putting nicotine into her body. But she weighed it up with her partner and they decided it was far better for her to just have clean nicotine from NRT than to continue to smoking.

Ashleigh wanted somthing she could use and forget about, so her Stop Smoking Practitioner suggested the nicotine patch - this worked really well for her. With extra help she was able to stop smoking and have a healthy pregnancy.

Like I mean for me, I mean a lot of people say that it’s like the physical aspect of it, you know literally the hand to mouth action of having a cigarette that they miss, but for me I wasn’t really bothered about that, it was more the dependency i.e. like the craving of nicotine – the NRT completely eradicated that. They started me off on like the fourteen milligram ones and then they reduce it slowly with the view being that you stop after that.

I'd definitely recommend NRT to others, ‘cause at the end of the day, like the cravings are really overpowering – like your whole body’s like, you can’t think about anything else. If anyone was to ask me I’d say NRT was really positive and worked for me.

 

 

 

Nicotine Replacement Therapy felt like an unknown - she knew it would be safer than smoking 20 cigarettes a day but was still unsure about the risk. Courtney saw a Stop Smoking Midwife, who reassured her that NRT was fine to use in pregnancy and that it would make her nicotine withdrawal easier. She chose to use the nicotine patch plus gum, and set a quit date for the next day.

Courtney has been getting on really well with using NRT when she is a work but finds first thing in the morning and weekends a struggle. Her advisor has given her lots of tips and now she is working towards cutting out all cigarettes.

I’m now trying to find distractions, having a shower straightway rather than sitting and having coffee first, because like obviously you can’t put your patch on then have a bath or shower. I’m just finding it hard.

We asked Courtney what would be her top tip for other women.

I think the patches, it sounds a bit silly, like, but I think I’ve tried them everywhere on my body, I think they work better on the inside of your arm at the top. And obviously just put them on as soon as possible when you wake up.

 

 

 

Becoming pregnant made Tracey very determined to quit smoking – she knew it wasn’t good for the baby and didn’t want to damage him in any way. Tracey went for an appointment with a Stop Smoking Practitioner and was offered combination NRT - nicotine patches plus an inhalator. Tracey initially had doubts about using the patches because of her previous experience and also had concerns that nicotine might harm her baby. However, she was given the latest safety information on NRT in pregnancy, along with some handy tips on how to manage difficult situations. She put the patch on each morning and whenever she was tempted to go outside and have a cigarette she used the inhalator to take the edge off her cravings.

I used the inhalator if the craving was too strong and the patch couldn't hack it, a few puffs to take the edge off which really helped.

It took Tracey a few attempts to get the right balance for her NRT products.

I guess it was trial and error with the strength of the nicotine patch and then I found a combination that worked out.

Once Tracey had the products strengths that were right for her, she successfully quit smoking. We asked Tracey what was her top tip to share with other women.

They suggested to me that as soon as I wake up, have my shower and then stick it [patch] straight on which I've done. I got into that routine and it really helped. Just like doing it every day, get up, patch on, crack on.

 

 

 

This pregnancy Katya knew she needed help to quit. She saw a Stop Smoking Practitioner and they offered her a choice of nicotine replacement products that she could mix and match. Katya opted for the nicotine patches.

At that point, I thought OK I’m going to stick the patch on and suddenly the miracle would happen" but they just didn’t feel to work for her.

Katya's Stop Smoking Practitioner made it clear she could replace her NRT product or try adding another one if needed, and eventually she chose to add an inhalator and increase the strength of her patches - this combination really helped.

I wanted to have the inhalator as well because that would be the behaviour of having a cigarette or having something in your hand and I think it’s great that you can mix and match them and, you know, you can swap them if you’re not happy with it or something.

Another big plus for Katya was getting NRT prescribed for free during pregnancy.

You know another great thing is it doesn’t cost you because to be honest having another little one on the way you really need to count your pennies and to start buying things for your new baby. So I think that’s a massive thing.

 We asked Katya whether she would recommend NRT to other pregnant women trying to quit smoking.

I would just like tell every pregnant women to try NRT because, you know, it’s worth giving it a go. Maybe I’ve been lucky, it did work for me, maybe it doesn’t necessarily work for everyone, but this pregnancy I think it was great.

 

* These stories are taken from interviews with pregnant women carried out to inform this research study. Names have been changed to protect the women's identities.