October 2025
What is your current role?
Christabel: I’m a smoking cessation midwife, working in the smoke cessation team. I support pregnant women and birthing people to stop smoking. My job is to make sure expectant parents understand the risks of smoking, have access to tailored support, and receive compassionate guidance during a critical period for both their own health and their babies' futures.
Evie: I'm a maternity support worker and smoke-free maternity assistant. Part of my job involves taking carbon monoxide (CO) measurements from pregnant women and birthing people as part of the routine observations they have at their antenatal appointments. I also give them advice about the impact of smoking on their unborn child, if they need it. Having this role while also working in a traditional midwifery care team means I work with midwives to refer every woman with raised CO measurement to the smoke cessation team.
Tell us about a typical day
Christabel: A typical day is both varied and rewarding. I start by reviewing referrals from antenatal clinics and responding swiftly to any new cases of pregnant patients who smoke or have a history of tobacco use. At appointments, I take CO measurements, discuss personalised quit strategies, prescribe appropriate nicotine replacement therapy, and offer motivational support.
Throughout the day, I give advice to patients over the phone and work with obstetric and community midwifery colleagues to coordinate care. I often need to create resources, like staff induction packs or promotional materials for events like Stoptober, to make sure the whole maternity team is equipped to support smoke-free pregnancies.
Evie: A typical day for me involves speaking to patients who are staying in hospital and are either on our support pathway or are still smokers but are unable to smoke while in hospital. I coordinate with their midwifery care team to make sure they have been offered a nicotine replacement to curb any cravings or agitation they may be experiencing. I also use the opportunity to remind them of the support available to help them to make a smoke-free home.
What's the best thing about your job?
Christabel: The most fulfilling aspect of my work is witnessing the positive impact it has on families. Supporting someone through quitting smoking in pregnancy is about more than breaking a habit, it's life-changing.
What's your proudest moment?
Christabel: One particularly proud moment was when a woman, who had struggled with multiple past quit attempts, successfully quit smoking ahead of her delivery. With continued encouragement and the right interventions, she improved her baby's health and became an advocate among her peers for smoke-free pregnancies. The transformation in her self-belief and health was remarkable.
Evie: My proudest moment has been receiving feedback after my job interview and being offered the job. I love supporting women and birthing people through their journey when they are ready to quit smoking.
What are you working on at the moment?
Christabel: This October, I've been organising 'Stoptober' activities across our trust to raise awareness of the support available. This involves coordinating logistics for quiz distribution, managing clinic appointments, updating spreadsheets for engagement tracking, and creating promotional content tailored for both staff and families.
I'm also working on training sessions with midwives and healthcare support teams, aiming to improve their confidence in delivering brief interventions and ensuring all referrals are promptly actioned.
What's next for you and your team?
Christabel: Looking ahead, our goal is to expand access to digital support tools, like mobile apps and CO monitoring devices, making cessation support even more accessible. We plan to refine our referral pathways, collaborate more with local public health teams, and regularly update our training resources. By sharing best practices and capturing meaningful outcomes, we aim to keep improving the pregnancy journey for all families we serve.
Evie: I am looking forward to running clinics in the community, offering drop-in sessions for expectant parents who would like to stop smoking. I also hope to empower other maternity support workers to be confident to offer advice to their patients about making an informed decision to quit smoking.
Thank you to the children and young people who have so brilliantly illustrated our blog pages.