Tobacco Use and Secondhand Smoke Exposure During Pregnancy: An Investigative Survey of Women in 9 Developing Nations

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) Vol. 98; no. 10; pp. 1833 - 1840
• Main Authors: Bloch, Michele, Althabe, Fernando, Onyamboko, Marie, Kaseba-Sata, Christine, Castilla, Eduardo E, Freire, Salvio, Garces, Ana L, Parida, Sailajanandan, Goudar, Shivaprasad S, Kadir, Muhammad Masood, Goco, Norman, Thornberry, Jutta, Daniels, Magdalena, Bartz, Janet, Hartwell, Tyler, Moss, Nancy, Goldenberg, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Am Public Health Assoc 01.10.2008; American Public Health Association
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Argentina - epidemiology; Attitude to Health; Biological and medical sciences; Birth weight; Brazil - epidemiology; Cardiovascular disease; Children & youth; Childrens health; Cigarettes; Consent; Cross-Sectional Studies; Democratic Republic of the Congo - epidemiology; Developing Countries - statistics & numerical data; Ecuador - epidemiology; Female; Guatemala - epidemiology; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Health Surveys; Humans; India - epidemiology; Interviews; Maternal & child health; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Pakistan - epidemiology; Polls & surveys; Population Surveillance; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications - epidemiology; Pregnancy Complications - psychology; Pregnant Women - psychology; Prenatal care; Public health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Questionnaires; Research and Practice; Risk Factors; Smoking; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tobacco smoke; Tobacco Smoke Pollution - statistics & numerical data; Uruguay - epidemiology; Womens health; Zambia - epidemiology; Ecuador; Argentina; Pakistan; Uruguay; Brazil; Guatemala; Zambia; Democratic Republic of the Congo; India; Human; Tobacco smoke; Inhaled air; Developing countries; Exposure; Pregnancy; Survey; Tobacco; Surveillance; Passive smoking; Female; Air pollution; Woman; Public health
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.117887

We examined pregnant women's use of cigarettes and other tobacco products and the exposure of pregnant women and their young children to secondhand smoke (SHS) in 9 nations in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Face-to-face surveys were administered to 7961 pregnant women (more than 700 per site) between October 2004 and September 2005. At all Latin American sites, pregnant women commonly reported that they had ever tried cigarette smoking (range: 78.3% [Uruguay] to 35.0% [Guatemala]). The highest levels of current smoking were found in Uruguay (18.3%), Argentina (10.3%), and Brazil (6.1%). Experimentation with smokeless tobacco occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and India; one third of all respondents in Orissa, India, were current smokeless tobacco users. SHS exposure was common: between 91.6% (Pakistan) and 17.1% (Democratic Republic of the Congo) of pregnant women reported that smoking was permitted in their home. Pregnant women's tobacco use and SHS exposure are current or emerging problems in several low- and middle-income nations, jeopardizing ongoing efforts to improve maternal and child health.