Smoking can make it more difficult to get pregnant and it can contribute to complications after conception and endanger the health of babies as they grow. For these reasons, many women quit smoking when they are trying to conceive and during pregnancy. But an estimated 40 percent of women in the United States who kick the nicotine habit for the health of their unborn child relapse within six months after delivery.
New research published in the journal Addiction suggests that the stress of becoming a parent could be a significant factor in why some moms resume smoking after childbirth. In the study, British researchers interviewed 1,000 mothers about factors that influenced their relapse or contributed to them staying smoke-free. Lead researcher Caitlin Notley, PhD, discussed the findings in a PsychCentral article:
One of the most striking things that we found is that women’s beliefs about smoking are a major barrier to remaining smoke-free. Many felt that smoking after the birth of their child was acceptable provided they protected their babies from secondhand smoke.
Their focus is, admirably, on the health of the baby, but they often do not think about the long-term health consequences for themselves as mothers.
We also found that women who saw smoking as a way of coping with stress were more likely to relapse. And that feeling low, lonely, tired, and coping with things like persistent crying were also triggers. Women reported that cravings for nicotine, which had lessened or stopped during pregnancy, returned.
...
The majority of women who had successfully remained smoke free said that the support of their partner was a strong factor. Partners who gave up smoking, or altered their own smoking behaviors, were a particularly good influence. And those who helped ease the stress of childcare were also praised by women who had resisted the urge to light up
In addition to receiving help from their partners, moms said support from health professionals was another positive contributor to them being able to resist urges to smoke and manage stress.
Previously: Study shows mothers receiving fertility treatments may have an elevated risk of depression, Examining how fathers’ postpartum depression affects toddlers, A telephone lifeline for moms with postpartum depression, What other cultures can teach us about managing postpartum sleep deprivation and Is postpartum depression more of an urban problem?
Photo by Samantha Webber
