Tina freely admits she was nervous about seeking help but when her midwife told her about HERS she thought she had nothing to lose. She knew as soon as she had a one to one with project manager Hazel Pearce she was in with a chance. ‘Hazel really inspired confidence. She explained all the various treatments and how the incentive scheme works. Hazel was fantastic and not at all judgemental. She seemed to understand that even though women feel terrible guilt about smoking when they are pregnant it is not always enough to make them stop because it is such an addiction’ says Tina.

Tina was shocked when she had her first CO test which measures how much carbon monoxide is in the lungs. Her levels were sky high at 34 but within days of giving up smoking her CO level had dropped to around three. ‘That was really dramatic and made me realise how important it was for me and my baby that I stopped smoking’. She was offered nicotine replacement therapy in the form of an inhalator but it made her feel sick. ‘I finally kicked the habit with NRT lozenges and I can honestly say I have not had a cigarette since that first meeting with Hazel’ she says. ‘The benefits are obvious. I have got far more energy and I don’t have that terrible cough in the morning’ she says.

Some critics of the scheme have said it is wrong to offer pregnant women incentives such as haircuts or cinema tickets to stop smoking and that they should voluntarily give up smoking for the sake of their unborn child. ‘Anyone who says that has obviously never smoked or tried to give up’ says Tina. ‘Incentives won’t stop you smoking-you have to want to stop first. Far more important for me was the one to one support I got from Hazel and the friendships I made within the group. I think it is brilliant that if you manage to give up with the support and help of the project you get a little pat on the back for your achievement’ she says.

Women who attend the group also get help and advice about other aspects of pregnancy from healthy eating and managing a budget to baby massage. ‘I went to a breastfeeding workshop where they showed us a little DVD of how to get your baby to latch on to the breast. The midwife explained that the reason I was never able to breastfeed my first two babies was not my fault because I had never been shown how to do it properly. Now I am determined to breastfeed Mollie for as long as I possibly can because I know it will give her the best start in life’ says Tina.

Support from the HERS group does not stop as soon as the women give birth either, but continues for four months after the baby is born. ‘I can see how with the stress of a young baby at home it’s so easy to slip back into old habits. I read somewhere that the most dangerous time for relapse is between the second and third month after the baby is born so I am going take Mollie along to the HERS meetings so I still get that support. It will be hard because my whole family still smoke and often come to visit at the weekends. I will have to use all my willpower not to go back to smoking-maybe I can get them on to the lozenges too!’ says Tina.

For more information about HERS call 0800 085 6037.