Abstract
ObjectivesSmoking during pregnancy may cause many health problems for pregnant women and their newborns. However, there is a paucity of research that has examined the predictors of smoking during pregnancy in Canada. This study used data from the 2009–2010 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) to estimate the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy and examine the demographic, socioeconomic, health-related and behavioral determinants of this behavior.Methods and FindingsThe data were obtained from the 2009–2010 CCHS master data file. Weighted estimates of the prevalence were calculated. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine demographic, socioeconomic, health related and behavioral characteristics associated with smoking behavior during pregnancy. Women living in the Northern Territories had a high rate of smoking during pregnancy (59.3%). The prevalence of smoking during pregnancy was also high among women under 25 years old, of low socioeconomic status, who reported not having a regular medical doctor, being fair to poor in self-perceived health, having at least one chronic disease, having at least one mental illness, being heavy smokers, and being regular alcohol drinkers. Results from multivariable logistic regression revealed that the odds of smoking during pregnancy were decreased with increasing age (odds ratio [OR], 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.91–0.99), having a regular family doctor [OR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.11–0.52], having highest level of family income [OR, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.03–0.29]. Mothers who reported poor or fair self-perceived health [OR, 2.13; 95% CI, 0.96–4.71] and those who had at least one mental illness [OR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.00–3.28] had greater odds of smoking during pregnancy.ConclusionsThere are a number of demographic, socio-economic, health-related and behavioral characteristics that should be considered in developing and implementing effective population health promotional strategies to prevent smoking during pregnancy, promoting health and well-being of pregnant women and their newborns.
Highlights
Smoking during pregnancy may cause many health problems for pregnant women and their newborns
The 2009–2010 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) consisted of 172,761 selected households, of which 139,841 households agreed to participate in the survey, resulting in an overall household-level response rate of 81.0%
The study population consisted of 369,547 women aged 15 to 55 who gave birth in the last five years and answered yes or no to the question ‘‘During your last pregnancy, did you smoke daily, occasionally or not at all?’’
Summary
Smoking during pregnancy may cause many health problems for pregnant women and their newborns. There are growing public health concerns about the transfer of contamination such as nicotine monoxide and other harmful chemicals from smoking pregnant women to the growing fetus. As shown in accumulated epidemiological evidence, smoking by the mother during pregnancy is strongly associated with low weight birth (,2500 g) [1], adverse physiological effects such as congenital heart defects [2] and sudden infant death syndrome [3]. Smoking during pregnancy imposes a considerable economic burden on the healthcare system. In the United States, annual costs for intensive neonatal care of low-birth weight infants were $272 million, of which $267 million would not be incurred if maternal smoking was prevented [1]
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