NICOTINE replacement therapy (NRT) is safer than smoking and Australian doctors can be confident about prescribing it for their pregnant patients, according to the authors of a Narrative Review published online by the Medical Journal of Australia - CLICK HERE.
"Clinicians report low levels of prescribing NRT during pregnancy, due to safety concerns and low levels of confidence in their ability to prescribe NRT," wrote the authors, led by Dr Yael Bar-Zeev, Public Health physician and Tobacco Treatment Specialist, PhD candidate at the University of Newcastle and head of the Centre for Smoking Cessation and Prevention at Ben-Gurion University in Israel.
"In a recent survey of Australian general practitioners and obstetricians, 25% of participants stated that they never prescribe NRT during pregnancy."
Current Australian and New Zealand guidelines recommend the use of NRT by pregnant women who have been unable to quit smoking without medication, the authors wrote.
However, these guidelines, and others from around the world, deliver mixed messages by imposing caveats such as "only if women are motivated", "only give out two weeks' supply" or "under close supervision".
Bar-Zeev concluded, "nicotine may not be completely safe for the pregnant mother and fetus, but it is always safer than smoking".
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