Using an empowerment and education intervention to prevent smoking relapse in the early postpartum period

During this decade, there has been a significant decline in the self-reported rates of women who smoke tobacco during pregnancy. However, the rates of smoking relapse in the postpartum period are exceedingly high. This is of particular concern because by six months postpartum, approximately one half of women who refrained from smoking during pregnancy relapse, many doing so by the first postpartum visit. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to test an intervention to decrease smoking relapse in the postpartum period. A randomized clinical trial was conducted using an intervention provided in the early postpartum period to the experimental group based on empowerment theory, health promotion education, Miller and Rollnick\u27s (1991) motivational interviewing techniques, and Marlatt and Gordon\u27s Relapse Prevention Model (1985). Sixty-two pregnant women who self-reported smoking cessation prior to or during their pregnancies were enrolled in the study. Data were collected at three points during the prenatal and postpartum periods. Chi square statistics revealed no significant difference in smoking relapse rates in the postpartum period between the two groups. When coping was assessed using the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WOCQ), there was no significant difference between groups, nor was there changes in coping over time, or a significant interaction effect between group and time. A discrepancy rate of 39% was noted between self-reported smoking status and confirmation with a biomarker upon enrollment to the study. In the postpartum period, 27% of women continued to self-report a negative smoking status but had a positive urine cotinine value. Findings from this study provide valuable information for healthcare providers who counsel and educate women during the early postpartum period on smoking relapse