Abstract
Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a potential direct cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) among infants. Disparities in SHS exposure and SIDS deaths may be due to inconsistent communication among practitioners about SHS/SIDS risks. In order to assess current SHS/SIDS risks and communication practices and to identify areas of improvement, we conducted a survey of 316 obstetricians and gynecologists (ob/gyns) about the length of time spent having discussions, supplemental materials used, risks covered, cessation, and frequency of discussions. Most (55.3%) reported spending 1–4 min discussing risks/cessation. Nearly a third reported not using any supplemental materials; few used apps (4.4%) or videos (1.9%). Assisting patients with steps toward cessation was infrequent. Few ob/gyns had discussions with patients immediately postpartum. Only 51.9% strongly agreed that they felt sufficiently informed about SHS/SIDS risks to educate their patients. The communication by ob/gyns of SHS/SIDS risk varies greatly and presents opportunities for improvement. Each additional minute spent having discussions and the use of supplemental materials, such as apps, may improve communication effectiveness. The discussion of smoking behaviors immediately postpartum may help to prevent smoker relapse. An increased awareness of statewide cessation resources by ob/gyns is needed to assist patients with cessation. The development of standardized risk messaging may reduce the variation in communication practices among ob/gyns.
Highlights
Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), which comprises Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), accidental suffocation and strangulation, and unknown causes, results in nearly 3700 infant deaths every year in the US [1] and is a leading contributor to infant mortality
For ob/gyns only, the core survey was supplemented with a Secondhand smoke (SHS)/SIDS module to assess their communication practices about the risks of SHS to infants, the risk factors for SIDS, including smoking and noncompliance with infant safe-sleep practices, and smoking cessation
No significant differences in characteristics of respondents and non-respondents were found for data that were available for both groups
Summary
Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), which comprises Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), accidental suffocation and strangulation, and unknown causes, results in nearly 3700 infant deaths every year in the US [1] and is a leading contributor to infant mortality. Public Health 2020, 17, 2908; doi:10.3390/ijerph17082908 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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