to think testing pregnant women to check if they're smoking is a stupid idea

[thegriffon]

Independent article.
This really can't have been thought through. Imagine conversation at AN appointment.
MW "Do you smoke?"
Pregnant woman "No".
MW "I don't believe you, please breathe into this machine."
Pregnant woman "Piss off".

I think it's an appalling idea.

We know smoking is detrimental to health and that it's a nightmare to give up, what exactly is this interfering going to achieve?

Load of bollocks!

I've never smoked, but might well have smelt of smoke if I'd been to my parents. DDad chain smoked.

I would have been very cross if the MW didn't believe me.

DDad finally gave up when the DDs were toddlers because he wanted to live to see them grow up.

Yes but if someone wasn't admitting it then they can't have that conversation.

Could they not just test the blood given at the routine blood screening? Not even having to ask the question?

Yes, but you don't need to test them to remind them.

I think Remembering puts her finger on it:

"it would also mean pregnant smokers who would lie about thier habit (for whatever reason) might be less inclined to get pre-natal support and monitoring"

And as pregnant smokers are one of the groups most likely to need ante-natal intervention, this would be a serious danger.

I spent many weeks on the ante-natal ward both with ds and dd and I spoke to many women there. A high proportion were smokers, they knew all about the dangers, but they were women with a high level of stress in their lives and often women who felt awkward and uncomfortable around professionals. It wouldn't have taken much to make some of them stop going for ante-natal appointments altogether.

It will be interesting to see what happens if god forbid they send some woman away with a bunch of leaflets and an appointment at a cessation clinic and it turns out the CO was high because she was living in a house with a duff boiler .

Terrible idea.

I would not consent to this.

(Nor would I consent to a blood test to see if I was lying.)

Sorry to be blunt but are you stupid Tickle? Because who doesn't know, in this day and age, how horrible smoking is for you and your unborn baby?

Or have you been living under a rock? In a cave?

What on earth could someone have said to you that would have made you a non-smoker that you're not already hearing every all day long if you simple pay a small bit of attention to the world?

What a FUCKING stupid idea. And I don't smoke and am not having any more children but I would fight against this 100%.

I find this hugely offensive. Pregnant women are already asked if they smoke. Help is available for anyone who wants to stop. This is state intervention into the lives of pregnant women. It's awful.

I have never smoked and would refuse to take the test on principle.

I think it's a good idea. No harm if you don't smoke, and could help protect babies of mums who are smoking but don't want to say, by getting them support.
I had it done as I only stopped smoking when I found out I was pregnant, it's 5 seconds blowing air into a tube, hardly invasive!!

I was tested at my first mw appointment. I didn't tell them to f off, that would have been rude. I have never touched a cigarette and my reading was very low as I live in a rural area so no traffic fumes. They didn't test again after that.

YANBU. Why do they assume women are lying?

maddening, can you not see what is wrong with that?

Rock, but surely the common sense approach would be - your CO reading is high, do you smoke? No. Do you live with a smoker? No. Are you around smokers much? No. Hang on ... alarm bells are ringing here.

No it's cheeky and counterproductive.

It may stop pregnant smokers from going to anti natal appointments.

Stupid not thought through idea. Bit like the 111 NHS fiasco.

I imagine that the midwives could test to see if the pregnant woman has been drinking as well. Prehaps they test for drugs while doing the urine test. It is a balance between the rights of the mother and the rights of the baby. I agree that it does seem a little nanny state like having tests, however if a mother is not prepared to give up smoking then someone has to look out for the future baby.

Sometimes athmatics have to breathe into a breathizer to test their lung capacity.

www.nationalasthma.org.au/publication/asthma-lung-function-tests

If the new test is presented as lung function test then it would not cause offense.

How much does it cost the NHS to care fr babies born with these smoking related problems? What are the issues? I have never smoked so never read up on effects of smoking whilst pregnant to be honest.

I was bemused when I saw the news earlier as I already thought all pregnant women were tested.

In my area everyone is tested at every midwife appointment- its routine, just like urine and blood pressure.

I've never smoked but tbh it never occurred to me to object, because I just thought it was standard!

I'm a student mw and recently did a community placement. We ask to test CO levels on all women, smoker or not, smoking partner or not at the booking interview. My mentor told me that they have found high CO levels in some women due to a faulty boiler or an underlying undiagnosed condition. Surely as long as consent is obtained and the reasoning explained noone should be offended.

If a woman declines the monitoring it is written in her notes just as declining any other tests or screening. We are just documenting we have done our jobs by offering the tests. I don't see a big problem as ling as communication is good.

(incidentally, my carbon monoxide reading was high once, when I had been waiting in traffic with the windows down. It made me think about the effect of air pollution on my baby in a way I never had before).

I can stealth - my point I guess is that the questioning and breath testing takes it beyond checking for potential health indicators for the baby but to a quizing the woman and disbelieving her.

You can't pretend it's for something else and then check for CO levels, that is totally unethical.
Why not just wait till the woman isn't looking then just give her a quick jab with a needle, grab some blood on the sly

This may be slightly O/T, but are people being serious when they say that they would tell the midwife/health worker to "fuck off"?

If this does go through then it is not the fault of these people and they should not be verbally assaulted for trying to do their job.

You are exceptionally lucky to live in a country which cares about the lives of you and your unborn child. To refuse this test "on principle" because the person doing it "is accusing you of lying" is quite ridiculous. Have you really nothing better to put your energies into?

Oh also AFAIK a MW would never test a womans blood or urine samples for anything without obtaining consent first.