Tayside mums are putting their unborn children at risk with a series of reckless actions, shocking new figures have shown.
The rate of pregnant women abusing drugs in Tayside has gradually increased since 2008 and is at 22 per 1,000 (2.2%) the second highest rate in Scotland, after NHS Lothian.
Dundee had the highest rate of mums-to-be abusing drugs, at 3.41%, followed by Angus: (1.2%), Fife (1.28%) with Perth and Kinross having the lowest percentage at 1.08.
Despite campaigns to discourage women from smoking while pregnant, a shocking 20% of Tayside women were identified as smokers within the three months of pregnancy.
By the time of their first health visit 10 days after birth 16.9% had not kicked the habit.
A total of 22 pregnant women (0.5%) drank over one unit of alcohol per day.
The figures, by the Information Services Division, cover the 2014/5 financial year, with the exception of the drug misuse statistics, which are a three-year aggregate for 2012-2015.
The ISD report stated: “It is widely accepted that smoking during pregnancy is harmful to both mother and baby.
“Maternal smoking is associated with pre-term and/or low birth weight babies.
“Smoking is also associated with increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and sudden unexpected death in infancy.
“The use or abuse of alcohol during pregnancy can have a severe and damaging impact on pregnancy and the health of a baby.
“Alcohol misuse during pregnancy increases the risk of stillbirth, foetal growth restriction and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.”
Another cause for concern was that this year, nearly half (48%) of expectant mothers were either overweight or obese a factor linked to an increased likelihood of needing a C section.
Women from deprived areas are more likely to be overweight or obese, and also have less access to antenatal support.
An NHS Tayside spokesman said: “All pregnant women and their partners are offered free antenatal education across Tayside through leaflets, online information, open days and individual one-to-one sessions, as well as the traditional format of group sessions.
“The midwifery team also works closely with the Family Nurse Partnership and the local authority who provide additional sessions for teenage mums and families in Dundee. Since 2010 we have also offered the OptiMum service which is a bespoke weight management programme for pregnant women with a BMI higher than 30.
“Midwives provide advice on healthy eating, physical activity, lifestyle choices and behaviour change duringpregnancy.
“Women are offered carbon monoxide testing and those women who smoke are offered referral to smoking cessation services to help support them to quit.”