Smoking Behavior of Recent Mothers, 18-44 Years of Age, Before and After Pregnancy: United States, 1990

Abstract

Objective-This report presents a comprehensive review of data on the smoking behaviors of women with a recent birth from the 1990 National Health Interview Survey. Data on current and lifetime smoking status and smoking behaviors before and after learning of pregnancy are presented. Selected demographic characteristics of women-including age, race, education, and family income-are also presented.Methods-Data presented in this report are from the 1990 National Health Interview Survey on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (NHIS-HPDP). Questions on pregnancy and smoking were administered as part of this supplement to women 18-44 years of age who either had a live birth in the 5 years preceding the interview, or who were pregnant at the time of the interview. These analyses were limited to women with a live birth in the 5 years preceding the 1990 NHIS who were not currently pregnant.Results-Of 13,674,000 women with a recent live birth, about 39 percent had ever smoked, 25 percent smoked in the year before they became pregnant, and 15 percent smoked during their most recent pregnancy. Women who smoked prior to learning of their pregnancy were most likely to be moderate smokers, white women, never married, and of lower income. Women who smoked after learning of their pregnancy were most likely to be light smokers, representing a shift in smoking behaviors after learning of pregnancy. Nearly 23 percent of women reported that they stopped smoking altogether after learning of their pregnancy.Conclusions-These findings are consistent with data from other sources and provide support for recently observed trends in smoking and pregnancy. A majority of women who had ever smoked continued to smoke throughout pregnancy. Although many women altered their smoking behaviors, only about one quarter of women reported that they stopped smoking entirely. Public health service messages must continue to encourage women to stop smoking entirely during pregnancy to maximize the health benefits to their infants.

Mütterliches Rauchen in der Schwangerschaft und Schlafstörungen bei 2 Monate alten Säuglingen

“…This was generally in accord with our own previously reported local prevalence figures [23] and international statistics on maternal smoking during pregnancy [6,25]. Likewise, the findings from this study fitted with previously reported associations between maternal smoking in pregnancy and certain disadvantageous social and demographic characteristics, in that women from a lower social class, having a lower educational level and who are younger smoked the most [6,15,25].…”

The association of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms and postpartum relapse to smoking: A longitudinal study

“…Approximately one third of female smokers quit once they learn that they are pregnant ( Fingerhut, Kleinman, & Kendrick, 1990 ;Floyd, Rimer, Giovino, Mullen, & Sullivan, 1993 ;LeClere & Wilson, 1997 ;Severson, Andrews, Lichtenstein, Wall, & Zoref, 1995 ), but up to two thirds of women who stop smoking during pregnancy relapse within 6 months after delivery ( Colman & Joyce, 2003 ;Fingerhut et al, 1990 ;Martin et al, 2008 ;McBride & Pirie, 1990 ;McBride, Pirie, & Curry, 1992 ;Ratner, Johnson, Bottorff, Dahinten, & Hall, 2000 ). Women who remain tobacco abstinent after delivery experience health benefi ts that include protection of infants from secondhand smoke exposure, lower risk of poor pregnancy outcomes in subsequent pregnancies, and decreased personal risk of tobacco-related health problems ( Mullen, 2004 ).…”

Neighborhood Factors Associated with Physical Activity and Adequacy of Weight Gain During Pregnancy

“…23 Smoking rates are lower among pregnant women than nonpregnant women 24 and decrease slightly during pregnancy. 25,26 Roughly 10-20% of women smoke during pregnancy. 27 Whereas vital statistic reports find a decline in smoking during pregnancy, last reporting a 37% reduction in smoking during pregnancy from 19.5% to 12.2% between 1989 and 2000, 28 smoking has been found to fluctuate widely during pregnancy with a number of relapses.…”