Abstract
Objectives
Middle- and low-income countries rarely have national surveillance data on smoking in pregnancy. This nationwide population-representative survey investigated pre- and post-partum smoking and their predictors in Serbia.
Methods
Using stratified two-stage random cluster sampling, 2,721 women in 66 health care centres were interviewed at 3 and 6 months post-partum.
Results
37.2% of women smoked at some point in pregnancy (average 8.8 cigarettes/per day). Smoking at pregnancy onset and during pregnancy was associated with smoking by others in the home and lower education and family socio-economic status. Almost a quarter of women (23.2%) who quit smoking during pregnancy did not relapse 6 months post-partum. Older women, primiparae, university students and white-collar workers were more likely to successfully quit smoking. More than a half of women were exposed to SHS in their homes (57.6%) and 84.6% allowed smoking in their homes.
Conclusion
Smoking during pregnancy in Serbia was two- to threefold higher than in the most affluent western countries. Target groups for action are women with lower education and socio-economic status, as well as health professionals and family members who smoke.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), realized by the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA), and conducted by the Public Health Association of Serbia. We would like to thank the patronage nurses and post-natal women from Serbia who collaborated enthusiastically in this survey. Ms. Anđelka Kotević, Senior Nurse, exceptionally organised and coordinated patronage nurses, and Inga Mijailović, Vladana Đurić, Gordana Lazić, and Aleksandra Vučković timely gathered, entered and checked up data. We received valuable support in conducting the study from Mr. James Chauvin and Ms. Sherryl Smith from the CPHA.
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Krstev, S., Marinković, J., Simić, S. et al. Prevalence and predictors of smoking and quitting during pregnancy in Serbia: results of a nationally representative survey. Int J Public Health 57, 875–883 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0301-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0301-5