No one should use tobacco products, and there is no safe level of exposure to nicotine. However, the time around a pregnancy is an especially important period to consider the health benefits of tobacco prevention and cessation.   

With Embrace for Both, Tobacco Free Florida supports people across the state looking to become pregnant, currently expecting or caring for newborns. This means informing and encouraging mothers and babies as well as everyone with roles in their care and wellness. 

Each year, over 200,000 babies are born in Florida. For many, the time of a pregnancy is a season of being especially ready and eager for important personal health guidance. It may also be the time people are most likely to interact with health care providers to learn about maternal health and the health of the baby.  

• For women who want to get pregnant, quitting smoking can be important to your fertility. Women who smoke have a higher risk of never becoming pregnant.
• Smoking doubles your risk of abnormal bleeding during pregnancy and delivery.
• Smoking during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage.
• When an expectant mother quits smoking, the baby will grow better and is less likely to be born prematurely.
• Children born to women who smoke during pregnancy are at higher risk of respiratory infections, asthma, infantile colic, bone fractures and childhood obesity.
• Smoking during and after pregnancy increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Women will have more energy and breathe more easily when they stop smoking.

Because of this increase in likelihood, frequency and quality of health care provider interactions, Tobacco Free Florida offers materials for the patient and the provider focused on tobacco prevention and cessation. 

Did you know? 

• Studies show more than half of women who smoke before pregnancy quit smoking directly before or during pregnancy.
• Health care provider counsel coupled with quit support has been proven to reduce the percentage of mothers using tobacco during their pregnancies.

Smoking is directly responsible for a wide range of health concerns specific to pregnancy and the health of newborns.  

• Mothers who smoke are more likely to deliver their babies early.
• Children born to women who smoke during pregnancy are at an increased risk of respiratory infections, asthma, infantile colic, bone fractures and childhood obesity.
• E-cigarettes and other products containing nicotine are not safe to use during pregnancy.

Health care providers interested in learning more about the free resources available for their offices to encourage cessation conversations can visit www.TobaccoFreeFlorida.com/healthcare to download materials, sign up for the automated referral program, request posters and handouts for their offices and more.  

Understanding that the time demands during health care consultations are significant, Tobacco Free Florida is focused on making the referral process as streamlined as possible.  

For people looking to become pregnant, currently expecting or caring for a newborn, know that it’s never too late to quit and that Tobacco Free Florida has free quitting resources scientifically proven to increase chances that a quit attempt succeeds. 

These include Phone or Web Quit, Group Quit, access to nicotine replacement therapy where medically appropriate and more.   

The time around a pregnancy is a time of the biggest (and the smallest!) reasons to consider new, healthier lives free from tobacco. The time is always right to be part of making Florida tobacco free. 

For more information, visit www.TobaccoFreeFlorida.com/QuitYourWay.  

EMBRACE FOR BOTH RESOURCES FOR DOWNLOAD

• Fact Sheet
• Rack Card
• Poster

EMBRACE FOR BOTH HEALTH CARE RESOURCES

• Health Care Provider Fact Sheet