HRSA Research Examines Smoking Cessation Among Pregnant Women

Hispanic women and women with incomes above poverty level are the most likely to try to quit smoking while they are pregnant, according to a new HRSA study.  However, older pregnant women who had smoked the longest were the least likely to quit successfully.

The study, “Factors Associated with Smoking Cessation among U.S. Pregnant Women,” by Stella Yu and Christina Park of HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, was published in the June issue of the Maternal and Child Health Journal.  It used the 1998 National Health Interview Survey supplement on pregnancy and smoking to examine different groups of women in relation to their attempts and successes in quitting smoking during pregnancy.

Study findings indicate:

• Nineteen percent of women reported smoking at the start of their last pregnancy.  Those most likely to be smokers when they got pregnant were non-Hispanic white women, and those who were young, unmarried, poor, or who had a high school education or less.  Women living in the Western U.S. or in large cities were less likely to be smokers at the time they got pregnant.

• Hispanic women were three times as likely to attempt to quit smoking as non-Hispanic white women.  Married women, those with higher educational levels, and women with incomes above the poverty level were also more likely to try to quit.

According to the study’s authors, these findings emphasize the role of nicotine dependence on the ability of pregnant women to quit smoking. While smoking cessation counseling and supports are critical in prenatal care, providers should take into account age, ethnicity, income, and the effects of addiction. To view an abstract of the article online, visit http://www.kluweronline.com/issn/1092-7875/contents.

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