PREVALENCE OF SMOKING AMONG PREGNANT-WOMEN IN NOVA-SCOTIA FROM 1988 TO 1992

Objective: To determine the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy in Nova Scotia and to identify women at high risk of smoking during pregn ancy. Design: Population-based descriptive study. Setting: All hospita ls providing obstetric services in Nova Scotia. Patients: All 60 754 w omen residing in Nova Scotia who had a baby in hospital between 1988 a nd 1992, smoking data were available for 57 750 (95.1%) of them.Outcom e measures: Proportion of women who smoked during pregnancy and the ma ternal smoking rates by age, marital status, parity, attendance at pre natal classes and residence. Results: Overall, 32.4% of the women smok ed at some point during their pregnancy. The rate was highest among th e women less than 20 years of age (47.0%) and decreased with each incr easing 5-year age interval. Overall, the unmarried women were 2.1 time s as likely to smoke as the married women. The smoking rates were high est among the women who were para 3 or greater regardless of age (wome n less than 20 were excluded here, since very few had such a parity). Of the nulliparous women, those who attended prenatal classes were les s likely to smoke during pregnancy than those who did not attend. Ther e was no relation between urban or rural residence and smoking rates. The smoking rates decreased little between 1988 and 1992 and in fact i ncreased among the women 35 and over and among those who were para 3 o r greater. Conclusions: The smoking rates among pregnant women in Nova Scotia changed little between 1988 and 1992. Therefore, it seems that current strategies for smoking cessation have not been successful. Si nce prenatal classes are more likely to attract nonsmokers than smoker s, other avenues for education and cessation are necessary.