Healthy Communities 		Smoking & Babies Just Don't Mix

Women smoking cigarettes while they are pregnant is one of the biggest reasons we have such a high number of infant deaths in our community.

Facts

  • In Forsyth County, women who smoke while they are pregnant are 2 times as likely to have their babies die than women who did not smoke.
  • African American women in our community who smoke when they are pregnant are 4 times more likely to have their babies die than are white women who smoke.
  • North Carolina mothers who smoked during pregnancy were 5 times more likely to have their babies die from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

The Coalition’s Response

The Coalition responded to these startling statistics by creating the “Smoking & Babies Just Don’t Mix” campaign. This community education and advocacy campaign was designed to raise awareness of the dangers that smoking and second-hand smoke bring to mothers and babies. It also offers residents a way to take action for a healthier environment for our babies and all people in our community.

Education Efforts

Smoking and Babies Billboard

The Coalition brought the “2 ½ pounds, ½ a pack a day” message to people throughout Winston-Salem in 2003. We purchased billboards and advertisements on city buses, ran radio ads, and put up posters all over town. The ads were concentrated in African American neighborhoods for two reasons. First, a higher percentage of African American women in our community smoke when they are pregnant than do whites. Second, African American babies die here at 2 to 3 times the rate of white babies.

The contact phone number on the billboards and in the posters is for the Breath of Fresh Air program at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. This highly-effective telephone program pairs women up with a nurse who can counsel them and support them as they try to quit smoking.

Posters are still available and are FREE. Contact the Coalition to order posters that you can put up in your neighborhood, organization, medical practice, or house of worship.

Advocacy efforts for smoke-free restaurants. Go to the Smoke-Free restaurants section of this website for more information.

Contact Information

The Forsyth County Infant Mortality Reduction Coalition is a community partnership housed within the Forsyth County Department of Public Health.

(336) 703-3110

Did You Know . . .

African American babies are 2 to 3 times more likely to die than whites.