Somehow, Lots of Women are Still Smoking While Pregnant

It is no secret that smoking is a heavy duty, unhealthy habit that many people are unable to quit. Some get too addicted to butt-out; some simply enjoy the social aspect of smoking; and some just don’t want to quit. You’d think, though, something like a pregnancy would at least force many women to flush their cigarettes – considering the possible health risks. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.

Recently, researchers from the University of Nottingham and the University of York zoned in on stop-smoking programs that are run by the U.K.’s National Health Service. Soon, it was realized that despite a baby being onboard, lots of mothers kept smoking.

Out of the 18,887 pregnant smokers analyzed, it was discovered that an astonishing 87% of them either failed to kick cigarettes while pregnant, or didn’t attempt to quit whatsoever. Only 13% of those studied were able to give up cigarettes while pregnant and stay off of them until giving birth – a staggering 43% of women got back to smoking within six months of having a child.

CBC.ca reports that 17% of women in the U.K. smoke during pregnancy, while 10% of women in Canada and the U.S. do the same.

What’s especially troubling here is that there is a wealth of information out there regarding the negative implications of smoking during pregnancy. In addition to the child being born prematurely and potentially with asthma, there’s also the chance of the mother experiencing a miscarriage.

Smoking is of course a personal choice, but think very carefully (and differently) when a child could be negatively impacted by such a habit.

-Adam Grant