A Different Aspect of Neglect: Smoking Mothers

Abstract

Smoking during pregnancy and lactation poses a serious risk in terms of fetus, newborn and child health. Therefore, for mothers all over the world, pregnancy and breastfeeding periods are a good opportunity to end smoking habits. Unfortunately, many mothers ignore this problem and continue to smoke widely. This study was conducted to evaluate the views of mothers with children at 0-2 age group who smoke, about the harms of smoking during pregnancy and breastfeeding, in terms of neglect. This qualitative study was conducted with 19 volunteer mothers who smoke. An introductory information form and a semi-structured questionnaire were used to collect the data. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews, recorded, literally transcribed, and analyzed with content analysis. It was determined that almost half of the mothers continued to smoke during pregnancy although they knew its harmful. Almost none of them had knowledge about the harms of smoking to the baby during breastfeeding period, and only two of the mothers were aware of passive smoking. In this direction, mothers who continue to smoke consciously or unintentionally should be followed more carefully by health professionals to protect children's health and rights.