New research has found the use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) by pregnant women has no serious impact on the risk of stillbirth.

Smoking during pregnancy is known to increase the risk of stillbirth and pregnancy complications.

A report published in the BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics today investigated some 87,000 pregnancies with the participants ranging from long-term smokers to women who had never smoked.

Researchers confirmed that smoking during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of stillbirth regardless of whether NRT was used or not.

 

Karine Strandberg-Larsen, from the National Institute of Public Health at the University of Southern Denmark, said: "Use of NRT during pregnancy is controversial, because NRT contains one of the toxins in tobacco smoke and not much is known about the safety of NRT use during pregnancy."

Professor Philip Steer, BJOG editor-in-chief, said: "Most women tend to be sensible when they are pregnant and work hard at adopting healthier lifestyles.

"Giving up on tobacco can be difficult as it is addictive but there are ways to manage the cravings during this period. A slow weaning-off from tobacco and a combination of NRT and behavioural therapy is advised.

"The best result from this is the birth of a healthy baby. However, the long-term aim for the mother should be to stop smoking."End of story