LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) _ A new report shows there's been an increase in the number of Douglas County residents who report smoking during their pregnancies.
The 38-page Community Health Assessment report shows that 13 percent of the county's live births in 2010 were to women who smoked during pregnancy. The Lawrence Journal World reports (http://bit.ly/M8QJPi ) that's up from 2006 when 11 percent reported smoking.
It's also higher than the national average of 10 percent.
The health department says it has stepped up its efforts to help curb the problem by educating and training its nurses, employees, case workers and other staff on how to more effectively influence their clients to quit smoking.
The department says smoking during pregnancy can lead to such things as miscarriage, premature births and birth defects.
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