Smoking cessation in pregnancy: An observational study

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Pauline Kent
Mette Jensen
Rachel Reilly
Amy McGowan
Leanne Dineen
John Williams

Abstract

Background  The primary objective of the study was to measure referral rates to a hospital smoking cessation service after introducing midwife-led brief advice on smoking cessation. The study also aimed to ascertain the proportion of pregnant women who smoke.


Method  A cross sectional study was conducted in 2009-2010 in the antenatal clinic in a West of Ireland hospital with approximately 1500 births annually. All pregnant women aged ≥16 attending the public Antenatal care Clinic, a total of 716 pregnant women were invited to take part in the validated smoking status screening involving a combination of urine Cotinine and Carbon monoxide breath testing. Brief intervention was offered to all women recorded as current smokers. Referral rate to the hospital smoking cessation service was calculated for the study period and compared to 2008 figures prior to introduction of brief intervention at the hospital.


Results  16% of pregnant women (n=114) were recorded as current smokers. The total number of attending referrals to the Smoking Cessation Service in the study period was 41, corresponding to a referral rate of 36% of current smokers. This represents an increase in the referral rate of 30% compared to 2008 when brief intervention was not routinely conducted in the antenatal setting. Conclusions Brief intervention in the antenatal setting can achieve smoking cessation referral rates of about one third of smokers.


Implications for practice  Staff at the antenatal clinic that encounters pregnant smokers should encourage uptake of smoking cessation services.

Article Details

How to Cite
1.
Smoking cessation in pregnancy: An observational study. ClinHealthPromot [Internet]. 2015 Oct. 1 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];5(2):43-8. Available from: https://www.clinhealthpromot.org/index.php/clinhp/article/view/clinhp15007
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Original article

How to Cite

1.
Smoking cessation in pregnancy: An observational study. ClinHealthPromot [Internet]. 2015 Oct. 1 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];5(2):43-8. Available from: https://www.clinhealthpromot.org/index.php/clinhp/article/view/clinhp15007