Why Women Take Up Smoking after Pregnancy Period

Even if most women quit smoking throughout the whole 9 month period of pregnancy, they take up smoking again shortly after delivery. Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh tried to identify key-factors which determine new mothers to begin smoking again in spite of the fact that they have been abstinent for 9 months, a rather long period of time. After 9 months of being completely off cigarettes, people succeed to kick the bad habit for good.

Michele Levine, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and leader of the research pointed out that the leading reasons which cause women who have just brought a baby into the world to take up smoking again are closely linked to postpartum blues and fears about weight gaining.

"Two-thirds of women who quit smoking when pregnant will resume smoking after giving birth. We want to understand how factors, such as depression or the baby blues, and weight concerns, might affect women's motivations to smoke after delivery. Weight concerns are a prevalent problem among American women, and can affect women who have recently given birth. In women who quit smoking when they become pregnant, we found that concerns about weight can make them less motivated to stay smoke-free after pregnancy," Dr. Levine noted.
The study involved 119 women who were investigated during pregnancy period whether they want to resume smoking or not after delivery. 65% of the women answered that they were highly motivated to stay non-smokers after giving birth, but, of them, only 74% said that they are confident they are not going to gain weight after the pregnancy period.

In the follow-up period of the study, researchers found that women who were the most confident about their normal BMIs after delivery and did not have any fear of gaining weight were the ones who succeeded to stay off cigarettes. On the other hand, pregnant women who had doubts when it came to weight gain after delivery were the most likely to resume the bad habit.

"Our results indicate that weight issues play a role in a woman's motivation to remain smoke-free after pregnancy. The next step is to see if weight concerns play a role in women's actual behavior, beyond motivation, and to understand the best way to target this vulnerability with treatment. The risks of smoking to both mother and child are well known; hopefully, we will learn about ways to help women reduce the dangers that cigarette exposure can pose to themselves and their children," concluded Dr. Michele Levine.