255385 Post-partum smoking among Hungarian women who smoked prior to pregnancy

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Peter Balazs , Department of Public Health, Semmelweis University Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Andrea Grenczer-Fogarasi , Department of Family Care and Methodology, Semmelweis University Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Ildiko Rakoczi , Department of Family Care Methodology and Public Health, University of Debrecen/Hungary, Nyiregyhaza, Hungary
Kristie Long Foley, PhD , Medical Humanities Program, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
Background: Tobacco use is high among low-income, pregnant women in Hungary. Among our sample of women with live births in 2009, 42% were smokers when they learned they were pregnant. Pregnancy is an excellent motivator for women to quit, but definitive abstinence has been difficult to achieve. Methods: We conducted interviews among 9,040 women for a retrospective cohort study on tobacco use and pregnancy. The analytical sample were known smokers prior to pregnancy and whose post-natal smoking status was known (n=3,164). Logistic regression was used to assess correlates of tobacco use post-partum (significance level, α ≤.01). Results: 82% of women were smoking post-partum. Factors positively correlated with smoking after delivery include older age of the mother (vs. <18), never married/widowed (vs. married), and 3-6 (vs. 1-2) children. Women 18-40 years were 3 ˝ - 4 times more likely to use tobacco post-partum. Women 41+ were almost 15 times more likely to use tobacco after birth. Having 3-6 children increased the likelihood of post-partum smoking by 90% (OR 1.89, 95%CI 1.31-2.74). Women who were never married/widowed were 3.7 times more likely to use tobacco after delivery (95% CI 1.21-11.09). Factors that reduced the likelihood of post-partum tobacco use included living with a non-smoking partner (OR=.42, 95%CI .32-.56) and higher SES (education, employment, and higher family incomes correlated negatively with smoking post-partum). Conclusions: Relying on „pregnancy” as a motivator for definitive cessation is inadequate in this population. Systems-level interventions that target pregnant smokers are needed to increase quitting and reduce recidivism.

Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
1.Describe the prevalence of tobacco use before and after pregnancy among low-income women in Hungary 2.Evaluate the individual and environmental factors contributing to post-partum tobacco use among this population 3.Discuss strategies for increasing cessation and abstinence among low income, Hungarian women who smoke

Keywords: Pregnancy, Low-Income

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a researcher and coordinator of the specific program about tobacco smoking and pregnancy outcomes."Increasing capacity for tobacco research in Hungary" supported by the Fogarty International Center, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (1 R01 TW007927-01).
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.