DRUGS IN PREGNANCY MOTHERISK ROUNDS Nicotine Replacement Therapy During Pregnancy: Recommended or Not

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risks of maternal and fetal complications and adverse neonatal outcomes, and it remains a significant health problem. Although pregnancy is often a strong motivator for smoking cessation, many pregnant women continue to smoke. Effective smoking cessation strategies for use during pregnancy are therefore clearly needed. Behavioural support provided by prenatal smoking cessation programs is safe and effective during pregnancy, but it generates a relatively modest reduction in smoking cessation rates. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), in conjunction with behavioural support, may offer an effective alternative to help pregnant women quit smoking. This suggestion is based on the convincing research evidence for the effectiveness of NRT in the general population. There is no consensus, however, on whether or not care provider