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Dads' Substance Use Hurts Expectant Moms' Efforts to Quit 

Men typically continue to smoke and drink while their female partner is pregnant and after she's given birth, which can make it difficult for women to stop smoking and drinking during pregnancy and more likely to resume such habits after their child is born, a University of Washington study says.

"The months after childbirth are critical for intervening with mothers," study co-author Jennifer Bailey, a research scientist affiliated with the Social Development Research Group in the UW's School of Social Work, said in a prepared statement.

"For example, many already have done the hard work of quitting smoking and haven't smoked a cigarette in six months or more. We should support that effort so that they can continue as nonsmokers. However, we know if dad is smoking or drinking, it is more likely that mom will resume smoking or drinking," Bailey said.

She and her colleague Karl Hill, a research associate professor of social work, studied hundreds of Seattle mothers' and fathers' month-by-month substance use over a three-year period that included pregnancy.

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