Program offers incentive for pregnant women to quit smoking
WARREN, Ohio - The Baby & Me - Tobacco Free Program is available for pregnant women and their support partners who want to quit smoking and receive free diapers in return.
The program consists of a series of face-to-face counseling sessions during which participants receive resources to aid them as they quit smoking.
Four 15 to 25 minute prenatal sessions will be offered. If the participants are tobacco free at sessions three and four, they will receive a $25 diaper voucher each visit. Twelve monthly postnatal sessions will be offered. If the participants are still tobacco free they will continue to receive diaper vouchers at each visit. If both the pregnant woman and support partner quit, the woman will receive two vouchers.
According to the release, 18,000 women and their families have successfully quit after choosing to undergo the program.
Besides the diapers, pregnant women usually already have an existing incentive to quit which is the health of themselves and their newborn.
Smoking and secondhand smoke both have negative health effects on smokers and their babies.
According to the CDC, mothers who smoke are more likely to deliver their babies early or miscarry.
Babies in the womb of a smoker, or someone who is frequently exposed to secondhand smoke, are more likely to be born with a low birth weight, die from sudden infant death syndrome, and have weaker lungs and brains than other babies who weren't exposed.
Maternal smoking during pregnancy is also believed to potentially lead to ADHD and cognitive dysfunction in children.
"Many pregnant women who smoke are consumed by guilt and wish they could quit," Laurie Adams, President and Founder of the program, said. "We offer a way for these women to realize their dream of being free from the grip of tobacco addiction, at a time when it matters most to not only their health, but the health of their unborn children."
Those interested can enroll in the program through the Trumbull County Combined Health District located at 176 Chestnut Ave. in Warren. More information is available via the TCCHD's website and the Baby & Me - Tobacco Free Program's website. The TCCHD can also be reached at (330) 675-2489.
