Smoking During Pregnancy Australia: The Risks Most Expecting Parents Underestimate
By Michael Whelehan | Certified Master Hypnotherapist and Master NLP Practitioner | Breathe Hypnotherapy | Updated July 2026
Smoking during pregnancy has become less common in Australia over the past decade, but the risks for the babies and mothers still affected by it haven’t changed. If you’re pregnant and smoking, or trying to help a partner quit before or during pregnancy, here’s what the evidence actually shows, without judgement, and what genuinely helps.
1. Smoking During Pregnancy Australia: How Common Is It Now?
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, around 7.8% of Australian mothers reported smoking at some point during pregnancy in 2023, down from 13% in 2011. That’s real progress, but the same data shows that of the women smoking in the first 20 weeks, around two in three continued smoking beyond that point. Quitting gets harder the longer it goes unaddressed, which is exactly why earlier support matters so much.
2. The Risks to the Baby
The Australian Government Department of Health is direct about this one: smoking during pregnancy increases the chance of premature birth and low birth weight, and babies exposed to tobacco smoke are more likely to develop lung problems and infections. There is also an increased risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy. The effects can extend well beyond birth too, babies exposed to tobacco smoke in the womb carry a higher lifetime risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, and obesity as adults, even if they never smoke themselves.
The reassuring part of the research is that timing still matters even if quitting doesn’t happen early. One Australian study found mothers who stopped smoking in the second half of pregnancy were 44% less likely to have a low birth weight baby compared with those who kept smoking throughout. Quitting later is genuinely still worth it.
3. The Risks to the Mother
Smoking during pregnancy also raises the mother’s own risk of complications, including ectopic pregnancy, placental problems such as placental abruption or placenta praevia, premature rupture of membranes, and miscarriage. These aren’t rare edge cases in the research, they’re consistently documented across multiple large Australian studies.
4. What About Vaping During Pregnancy?
Vaping isn’t a safer substitute during pregnancy. The Department of Health confirms that vapes containing nicotine carry the same increased risk of low birth weight and preterm birth as smoking, and even nicotine-free vapes contain other chemicals whose effects on a developing baby aren’t yet fully understood. The current advice from Australian health authorities is that the safest option during pregnancy is not to smoke or vape at all.
5. Getting Support to Quit, at Any Stage
If you’re pregnant and smoking or vaping right now, the most useful next step isn’t guilt, it’s a conversation with your GP, obstetrician, or antenatal care team, since they can guide nicotine replacement options that are appropriate and safe during pregnancy specifically. Quitline (13 7848) also offers free, confidential support and is used widely by antenatal clinics across Australia.
Alongside that medical support, many people find the habit itself, the routine of reaching for a cigarette at certain times or under certain stress, is what makes quitting hard to sustain. That’s where hypnotherapy for quitting smoking can help, working alongside your antenatal care rather than replacing any part of it. If you’d like to talk it through, get in touch or read more about Michael’s approach.
Individual results may vary. Hypnotherapy is most effective when you are genuinely ready to make a change. Your results will depend on your mindset, readiness, and personal commitment. This article is intended for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. If you are pregnant and smoke or vape, please speak with your GP, obstetrician, or antenatal care provider before making any changes, including starting nicotine replacement therapy. Hypnotherapy is not a treatment for any pregnancy complication and does not replace antenatal medical care. The success rates referenced on the Breathe Hypnotherapy website are based on documented client outcomes from Breathe Hypnotherapy’s practice.
