There are massive differences around England in the risk of women smoking to the end of pregnancy, according to figures published yesterday.
Although rates of smoking in pregnancy are falling slowly, in the north-east as many as one in five mothers is still smoking by the time they give birth, according to the NHS Information Centre.
This compares with 6.1 per cent in London – the lowest rate in the country. And in the borough of Brent, just 2.8 per cent of women smoke through pregnancy.
The highest rate in England is found in Blackpool, in the north-west, where 30 per cent of new mothers are still smokers.
Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: "Smoking can cause a range of serious health problems, including lower birth weight, pre-term birth, placental complications and perinatal mortality.
"The statistics we have published today highlight stark regional variation in the proportion of women smoking at the time of giving birth."
The Royal College of Midwives described the figures as "very alarming".
Deputy general secretary Louise Silverton said they demonstrated "that there is an urgent need to highlight the relationship between the investment into and the effectiveness of smoking cessation programmes, especially in areas of high general smoking prevalence.
"The North- South divide revealed in these statistics highlights the gaping health inequalities in access to appropriate public health services."
* Nationally, according to the figures for December 2011, 13.4 per cent of women were still smokers when they gave birth – compared with 14.4 per cent at the end of 2009.
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