NRT during Pregnancy

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) During Pregnancy

Nicotine replacement therapy is a category C medication. This category is defined as drugs which, owing to their pharmacological effects, have caused or may be suspected of causing, harmful effects on the human foetus or neonate without causing malformations.

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While Nicotine Replacement Therapy is not harmless, it is much less harmful than smoking cigarettes. And Nicotine Replacement Therapy is very helpful in quitting smoking.

If you smoke more than 10 to 15 cigarettes a day, especially if you need to smoke, early in the day, then it is likely that you are very dependent on nicotine.

In the past, most health professionals have been reluctant to recommend Nicotine Replacement Therapy to pregnant women. The new National Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Drug Use During Pregnancy, Birth and the Early Development Years of the Newborn has changed that situation.

The national guidelines recommend that pregnant smokers initially attempt to quit smoking without nicotine replacement therapy. But if they have failed to quit after a period of two weeks, the national guidelines recommend the use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy.

The guidelines recommend a holistic approach, which means the Nicotine Replacement Therapy should be supported by counselling and the support of the whole medical team. In New South Wales, one of the best sources of quality counselling is to use the Quitline.

The guidelines suggest that pregnant women should choose a form of Nicotine Replacement Therapy that is delivered by intermittent dosing such as gum or inhalers. The reason of this is that intermittent dosing delivers the lowest dose of nicotine to your baby.

Patches can also be used as a second choice, and this may be necessary if nausea which is common in early pregnancy prevents the use of inhalers or gum. If patches are chosen, that it is best to have them removed at night.

In the past the pack inserts and product information supplied with nicotine replacement therapy stated that the use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy in pregnancy was contraindicated meaning that it is not allowed. Recently, the product information supplied with the Nicorette line of products, including gum inhalers and patches, has changed to include advice on use in pregnancy.

If you use Nicotine Replacement Therapy during pregnancy, you should not use it for more than two months.

In short, get all the help you can. But if you have failed to quit after two weeks, you should consider using Nicotine Replacement Therapy. Using Nicotine Replacement Therapy, roughly doubles your chances of quitting smoking.

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