Oldham women were more likely to continue smoking while pregnant than average, according to NHS data.

According to data released at the end of last month, 156 pregnant women in Oldham were known to continue to smoke at the time of their delivery from June to September 2022.

This equates to a rate of 9.9 per cent of pregnancies recorded in Oldham where the smoking status of the woman was known, not including women whose smoking status was not known at time of delivery.

According to the NHS, smoking cigarettes while pregnant can increase the risk of stillbirth, where the baby dies during pregnancy; babies from smokers are, on average, 200g lighter than other babies which can mean they are more likely to have problems keeping warm and are more likely to get infections.

Smoking while pregnant can also increase the risk that a child will develop asthma and other serious illnesses after they are born.

This means Oldham mums were 10 per cent more likely to continue smoking during pregnancy than in the country as a whole, where the rate is 9 per cent.

Across Greater Manchester, Oldham came in second place for the proportion of women who were known to continue to smoke at time of delivery.

Wigan borough was in first place, with 11.2 per cent of women known to smoke in pregnancy.

Oldham’s rate was lower than that of the North West region, with 10.3 per cent continuing to smoke.

Blackpool was the area with the highest rate across the entire country, with around a fifth (19.6 per cent) of women known to smoke at time of delivery.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the rate of smoking in the UK was 13.3 per cent in 2021 – with 15.1 per cent of men and 11.5 per cent of women taking to the habit.

Nearly one-fifth (19.3 per cent) of Oldhamers were currently smoking in 2021, higher than the UK average and up from 14.9 per cent in 2020.

The proportion of Oldhamers known to be smoking at time of baby delivery is down from ten years ago – with an average of 16.5 per cent in 2012/13 – a fall of 6.6 percentage points.

In the same time period the rate in England decreased from 12.7 per cent to 9 per cent, a smaller fall of just 3.7 percentage points.

In its 2017 Tobacco Control Plan for England, the Government had set a target to reduce the rate of pregnant smokers to less than 6 per cent by 2022.

However, while data has only been released up until September 2022, it appears unlikely this will have been achieved.

From April to September 2022, London had the lowest rate of women smoking while pregnant in England, with 4.7 per cent of women continuing to smoke.

This means London women were around two-and-a-half times less likely to smoke during pregnancy than the area with the highest rate, the North East and Yorkshire, which sees 11.9 per cent of women continue to smoke while pregnant.

Information on stopping smoking during pregnancy can be found on the NHS website.

A spokesperson from NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care said: “In Oldham, around 1 in 10 women smoke throughout their pregnancy, however these numbers continue to decline each year.

“Through Greater Manchester’s Smokefree Pregnancy programme, every effort is being made to support more pregnant women to stop smoking.

“While it’s true that some women are able to stop smoking as soon as they find out they are pregnant, for others it’s just not that easy.

“Not every pregnancy is planned, and smoking is a serious addiction which often takes much more than just willpower to overcome, especially during pregnancy when increased hormones and metabolic changes can make cravings even more intense.

“We know that parents-to-be are more likely to quit if they get the right support, without the worry of being judged.

“That’s why we have dedicated maternity stop smoking services to support pregnant women and their partners to go smokefree. The services offer one-to-one support and free nicotine replacement that is safe to use during pregnancy and beyond.

“In addition to maternity stop smoking services, Oldham also benefits from the work of a Tobacco Alliance, made up of partners across the health sector who co-ordinate tobacco control work to minimise the impact of smoking and tobacco in all forms.

“Quitting smoking at any stage of pregnancy will benefit you and your baby but the earlier you stop, the better. If anyone needs help to stop smoking, we’d encourage them to open up and speak to their midwife who will give them the support needed.”

The Department for Health and Social Care was contacted for comment.