Abstract
BackgroundExposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) during pregnancy can cause pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes. About 40% of Chinese expectant fathers are smokers and they rarely attempt to quit smoking. There is a paucity of effective smoking cessation services targeting this population. In this study, we assessed the smoking behavior of Chinese expectant fathers and examined its association with smoking abstinence after their partner became pregnant, which is an essential prerequisite for designing effective smoking cessation interventions.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey in the obstetrics and gynecology clinic of three tertiary hospitals in China. Expectant fathers who smoked at least one cigarette per day for 1 month within the past 12 months were invited to participate in this study. The participants were asked to complete a structured questionnaire that assessed their smoking behaviors before and after their partner became pregnant.ResultsFrom December 2017 to March 2018, we recruited a total of 466 eligible expectant fathers, among whom 323 (69.3%) were identified as current smokers and 143 (30.7%) were ex-smokers. Using lasso regression, 19 features were selected from among 27 independent variables. The results of the selected multivariable logistic regression model showed that knowledge about the health hazards of smoking among smokers (odds ratio (OR) 1.39; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.24 to 1.58; p < 0.001), knowledge about the health hazards of SHS to pregnant women (OR 1.46; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.97; p < 0.001), knowledge about harm to the fetus and newborn (OR 1.58; 95% CI 1.25 to 2.03; p < 0.001), and being a first-time expectant father (OR 2.08; 95% CI 1.02 to 3.85; p = 0.046) were significantly positively associated with smoking abstinence among expectant fathers after their partner became pregnant. Significantly negative associations were found for severe dysfunctionality in terms of family support (OR 0.48; 95% CI 0.24 to 0.95; p = 0.036) and smoking only outside the home (OR 0.81; 95% CI 0.26 to 0.98; p < 0.001).ConclusionsIn this study, we identified several factors associated with smoking abstinence among expectant fathers after their partner became pregnant. These findings can guide the development of effective interventions targeting expectant fathers, to help them quit smoking.
Highlights
Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) during pregnancy can cause pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes
A thorough understanding of the smoking behavior of expectant fathers and the factors associated with smoking abstinence after their partner becomes pregnant is an essential prerequisite for the design of appropriate and effective smoking cessation interventions that can help these men to achieve a higher rate of smoking abstinence
Of 631 who were eligible, 466 (73.9%) expectant fathers agreed to participate in this study and completed the questionnaire
Summary
Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) during pregnancy can cause pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes. The review identified five studies related to SHS prevention interventions to pregnant women in China, and these studies primarily focused on promoting avoidance behaviors of pregnant women and only one included intervention in changing husbands’ smoking behaviors [8] These studies showed no significant differences in quit rate between groups and the availability of effective interventions to protect pregnant women from SHS in China is limited [8]. Previous studies conducted in Western countries have evaluated the effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions for expectant fathers [9, 10] The results of these studies have shown no significant differences between the proposed intervention and control groups. A thorough understanding of the smoking behavior of expectant fathers and the factors associated with smoking abstinence after their partner becomes pregnant is an essential prerequisite for the design of appropriate and effective smoking cessation interventions that can help these men to achieve a higher rate of smoking abstinence
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