Smoking Cessation Rates among Pregnant Women and Their Relapse Rates in the Postpartum Period in Samsun

Abstract

Objective: This research aimed to determine the smoking frequency and smoking-related gestational and postpartum health problems in our study population. We investigated the quit rate during pregnancy and relapse after giving birth. The study was conducted in two university family health centers. A total of 270 women aged 18–45 with children were included in the study. Following receipt of verbal consent, the cases’ demographic data, previous obstetric information, smoking status, and gestational weight gain (GWG) were collected through face-to-face interviews and electronic records. The participants’ mean age was 35.75 ± 6.9 years and 28.1% were current smokers. Forty-one participants (16%) smoked during pregnancy, while the secondhand smoking rate was 30%. Ex-smokers experienced greater GWG (17.5 ± 1.7 kg (p = 0.003)) than current smokers and non-smokers. Small gestational age (SGA) and health problems in the first year of life were more frequent in the babies of smoker mothers (p < 0.05). The relapse rate was 81.4%, and the mean relapse interval was 13.9 ± 1.85 months. Having a smoker spouse (0.42 Exp(B), p = 0.035) and high GWG (0.98 Exp(B), p = 0.01) were identified as independent risk factors for relapse. Our results indicate that many of the smoker women quit during pregnancy. Special interventions may increase the quitting rate in pregnancy and reduce the subsequent relapse rate.