Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to identify the demographic, psychological, and social factors associated with women who change their smoking behavior during pregnancy (smoking more, less, or quitting entirely) in addition to being able to describe how knowledge of these factors has potential implications for pregnancy cessation programs.
Abstract: Cigarette smoking has been identified as a significant and modifiable risk factor for both low birth weight and pre-term delivery. Maternal smoking during pregnancy has also been implicated in sudden infant death syndrome, among other health effects. Smoking cessation interventions however, have posed significant challenges. Only one in four pregnant smokers actually quits, though one in three reports reducing their use of cigarettes. In order to foster successful maternal smoking cessation, it is important for public health professionals to understand the factors associated with pregnant women who modify their smoking behavior. The purpose of this study is to determine the maternal characteristics (both psychosocial and demographic) associated with self-reported changes in smoking behavior during pregnancy (smoking more, less, or quitting entirely). The analysis will use data from the 1994/1995 Access to Maternity Care in California study, a cross-sectional, statewide survey of over 10,000 postpartum women in California. In order to quantify the extent to which variability in smoking behavior is explained by the psychological (e.g. anxiety, feelings about pregnancy), social (e.g. socioeconomic indicators, social support), and demographic (e.g. age, race/ethnicity, language, prenatal care, insurance coverage) characteristics of pregnant women, logistic regression analyses will be conducted, after first examining the relationships among potential explanatory variables and between independent and dependent measures with the use of frequency tables. The outcome variable will be the extent of smoking behavior change that occurred during pregnancy (smoking more, less, or quitting entirely). Potential implications for cessation programs for pregnant women will be explored.
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