The Effect of Alcohol Consumption on the Women's Smoking Status During Pregnancy

Introduction: Both smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy are two significant reversible risk factors towards avoiding many complications for both the mother and the fetus. Pregnancy is the perfect time to break both of these harmful habits, as women are generally quite motivated throughout this period. Aim: The investigation –through a systematic review of the international literature– of the effect of alcohol consumption on the smoking status of women during pregnancy. Material and Method: A search was conducted in both the electronic databases of Scopus and Medline, using the following keywords: "alcohol", "smoke*", "smoking cessation", "smoking status", "pregnancy", both individually and in combinations. The inclusion criteria for the studies were the following: (a) to be published over the past 10 years, (b) to be primary researches, (c) to be published in English or in Greek, (d) to have a sample consisting of adults. Results: The primary literature review initially identified a total of 470 studies, of which 7 were eventually selected. The analysis of the studies found that there are several differences between women's attitudes towards smoking cessation, compared to those towards alcohol consumption cessation. In most studies, there is a large reduction in alcohol consumption during pregnancy as opposed to smoking, where no equivalent reduction is evident. In addition, there does not seem to be a correlation between alcohol consumption and women's smoking status during pregnancy. Conclusions: Most women adopt healthy habits during pregnancy and adapt to the guidelines of healthcare professionals - which is evident in most studies where the rate of alcohol cessation during pregnancy is found to be reaching 90%. Unfortunately, there is no correspondingly high success rate in smoking cessation, as a large proportion of pregnant smokers are unable to stop smoking altogether. The predictors for non-smoking cessation during pregnancy should therefore be further investigated. Finally, especially in planned pregnancies, an effort should be made by women to quit smoking before pregnancy, as during this period the smoking cessation options available are wider and have a proven success rates of over 70%.

Category: Volume 59, N 3
Hits: 653 Hits
Created Date: 15-12-2020
Authors: Athina Diamanti , Antigoni Sarantaki , Aikaterini Lykeridou