Learning Objectives: Describe cessation counseling techniques and programmatic considerations that have been successful helping low-income pregnant women quit smoking.
Abstract: The First Breath pilot initiative was funded in 2001 by the Wisconsin Tobacco Control Board and aims to help 300 low-income pregnant women around the state quit smoking. First Breath operates through 15 local public health offices, federally funded community health centers, and Native American tribal clinics serving primarily Medicaid recipients. First Breath has functioned to train nurses and dieticians from each pilot site in smoking cessation counseling, as well as to integrate smoking cessation into existing prenatal care programs, distribute educational materials to local health professionals and extend services into the postpartum period. First Breath works within the realities of clients’ lives, including lack of transportation, transient living, domestic violence, incarceration, and unemployment. Goals of the pilot initiative are to: · Increase the number of pregnant women who are able to quit smoking · Reduce smoking among those pregnant women not able to quit · Decrease the rate of relapse after delivery · Improve the health of newborns
The results from women enrolled in the program will be compared to a control group gathered from counties adjacent to those containing First Breath sites. Preliminary results, lessons learned, and plans for the future will be discussed during the presentation as the pilot study phase of First Breath continues through December 2002. Results after the first year of the pilot initiative show that 16% of participants quit smoking and an added 29% cut down while they were pregnant. An additional 11% of participants quit smoking after they gave birth.
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