Jump to full article: Medical News TODAY(UK), 2009-10-30
Intro: Self-reported smoking during pregnancy underestimates the true number of pregnant smokers in Scotland by 17%, and results in a failure to detect 2400 pregnant smokers each year, finds new research published on bmj.com today.
This results in thousands of smokers not being identified or offered smoking cessation services, say the authors.
It is well known that self reported smoking during pregnancy is an inaccurate way to identify smokers. Yet it is still used widely by antenatal clinics to determine the smoking status of pregnant women and to refer them to smoking cessation services. The Scottish Government also relies on self-reported smoking figures to set targets and measure the success of smoking cessation services. . . .
The authors estimate that the true smoking prevalence for pregnant women in Scotland, after adjusting for area deprivation, maternal age and self-reported smoking is 28%, higher than the 23% based on self report data.
They conclude by calling for more accurate methods of identifying pregnant smokers, so that accurate data is used to inform policy and provide appropriate
Source British Medical Journal
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