About the Research

We are researchers from the universities of Nottingham, East Anglia (UEA) and Cambridge. We are developing and testing effective ways to help women stop smoking during pregnancy including the use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT).

Why is the research needed?

Despite many women really wanting to stop smoking, over one in ten smoke regularly during their pregnancy. We think that pregnant women who smoke are most likely to make use of NHS support if they find this relevant to them and easy to understand. We want to hear your views about any support which the NHS has given you to help you to stop smoking. We aim to use your ideas and experiences to improve this support so that women are more likely to use it.

What would taking part involve?

We are developing a support package to help pregnant women use NRT more effectively. We have reviewed the existing evidence and talked with pregnant women about their NRT-related experiences, along with Stop Smoking Practitioners and other experts. This has helped identify what the support should include. Before we test the planned support package we would like feedback on what we have come up with so far. The interview will last no more than an hour (most will take no more than 30 minutes); we can talk by phone at a time that suits you.

Who can take part

You can take part if you:

• Are at least 16 years old

• Are pregnant, or have given birth and your baby is less than 6 months old

• Tried to stop smoking when you were pregnant (it doesn’t matter if you managed this or not), and

• Were offered NRT to help you stop smoking and either did not use it, used it for a bit but then stopped or did not use it as instructed

Will taking part be confidential?

Taking part in the study will be confidential and we will keep all information about you safe and secure. When sharing our findings we may use direct quotes from our conversation but these would not be linked to you at all. If you like, we will send you a summary of study results. Please see our policy for how we would use your personal information

Will I be paid for my time?

After the interview we will give you a £20 shopping voucher to thank you for your help and compensate you for your time.

What will happen to the results?

With your help, we will improve NHS support for encouraging pregnant women to stop smoking by making this more relevant to them. If found to be effective, these methods will be integrated into NHS stop smoking training so that health professionals working throughout the NHS will be better skilled to help pregnant women to stop smoking.

I'm interested, what should I do next?

Just fill in the registration form and we’ll contact you very soon with further information and answer any of your questions. Alternatively, to contact us via email or telephone, please click here.