Women’s views on smoking in pregnancy: A systematic review of qualitative research
Author(s)
Prof Hilary Graham, Dr Kate Flemming, Dr Amanda Sowden, Morag Heirs and Dave Fo
Presenter(s)
Dr Kate Flemming Lecturer, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
Professor Hilary Graham Head, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
Abstract
Smoking in pregnancy is a socially-patterned risk. Women in disadvantaged circumstances are more likely to smoke prior to pregnancy; they are also less likely to quit in pregnancy and, among those who quit, more likely to resume smoking after birth.
While systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials have identified interventions that are effective in helping women to stop smoking in pregnancy, such reviews shed little light on the circumstances and experiences of smokers, or on the factors know to influence smoking and smoking cessation in pregnancy. We therefore undertook a systematic review of qualitative research which explores these factors.
Twenty five studies were included in the review, detailing experiences of over 600 pregnant women who were disproportionally drawn from disadvantaged groups. The synthesis identified journeys taken by women who begin pregnancy as smokers, from being a pre-pregnant smoker to being a pregnant smoker and the often-shifting changes in smoking behaviour throughout pregnancy through quitting and trying to quit or continuing to smoke. Our findings highlight how the circumstances of women’s lives influence their smoking behaviour, what facilitates quitting, and the barriers that women face. These factors have implications for the design and delivery of interventions to support quitting in pregnancy.
Source of funding: The work was undertaken as part of the Public Health Research Consortium. The Public Health Research Consortium is funded by the Department of Health (DH) Policy Research Programme.
