Action Required: Revisiting Better Practices in Smoking Cessation Interventions for Pregnant Girls and Women

Background Despite considerable medical and research attention, smoking in pregnancy remains a serious public health problem, especially among young and disadvantaged women in high income countries and general populations of women in low and middle income countries. Facilitating successful and enduring smoking cessation during pregnancy and preventing relapse is therefore an ongoing public health challenge globally Objectives This Canadian project is aimed at better breaking the cycle of smoking during pregnancy, or quitting and relapsing during postpartum; especially for young, disadvantaged women. Equally, it will address the apparent blockages to effective uptake by health professionals, of research evidence and better practices in this field. Methods A systematic review involving extensive searches, and analysis, of the published literature as well as a search of unpublished program evaluations was conducted. The review also informed the creation of knowledge transfer materials and strategies specifically tailored to both young and low SES women. Results There are social, psychological and biological factors influencing smoking cessation trends in pregnant women, but smoking cessation interventions generally overlook the context in which pregnant women’s smoking occurs and significant differences between sub-groups of pregnant smokers. Conclusions Recommendations and resources will be presented for addressing high priority groups of women, particularly young and disadvantaged pregnant smokers, as well as the providers and policy makers who seek to assist them. Practice recommendations will be made for smoking cessation interventions, such as increased tailoring of interventions, integration of social context into interventions for pregnant girls and women, harm reduction and relapse prevention