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Pregnancy as a motivator
Pregnancy is seen as an opportunity to help women to quit smoking. Because of the health effects for their baby, women may be more likely to quit, especially if it is their first baby. Women also have more contact with health professionals during their pregnancy, so there are more opportunities to talk to them about their smoking and quitting, and to support them to quit if they choose. However, the barriers to quitting may be too difficult to overcome (see why people smoke), and cutting down their smoking might be more achievable for them.
Programs for pregnant women
- Programs that are able to give pregnant women different options to support them to quit, and offers this support in a coordinated way, are more likely to be successful.
- Nicotine replacement therapy (like patches) is not necessarily the best treatment during pregnancy. Care and support for the pregnant woman to quit should be carefully coordinated by a team of health professionals (doctors, nurses, AHWs) at her health service.
- Several programs that work with pregnant Indigenous women have suggested incorporating smoking cessation within a program that supports women not only to quit, but also to managed the whole range of interacting issues that affect them (for example, nutrition, financial concerns, relationship problems, etc).
- Pregnant women may be more likely to quit if their partners are non-smokers, so programs that take a family-based approach also help those around the pregnant woman to quit, may be successful.
- In mainstream programs, providing incentives (payments) to pregnant women has had success in helping them to quit, particularly when part of a multi-component program that also supports the women in other ways.
Further reading
CEITC fact sheet What do we know about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and smoking during pregnancy?
CEITC fact sheet Top tips to implementing family-based interventions
CEITC website section on smoking and pregnancy
CEITC website section on Incentives
