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Breast-feeding and smoking habits among Israeli women
S Ringel1, E Kahan, R Greenberg
1Division of Pediatrics, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin, Israel.
Background:
Many women stop smoking before or during pregnancy, or while breast-feeding (nursing).
Objectives:
To assess the relation between breast-feeding and smoking habits.
Methods:
A survey was conducted among 920 women attending family health clinics (group 1) and a maternity department (group 2) on their breast-feeding and smoking habits.
Results:
A total of 156 women (16.95%) smoked during pregnancy. A significant correlation was found between breast-feeding and not smoking after delivery (P = 0.009 in group 1, P = 0.03 in group 2). A higher tendency to nurse was found among women with an uneventful pregnancy, who vaginally delivered a singleton at term weighing 2,500-4000 g, and who received guidance on breast-feeding.
Conclusion:
Professional guidance in favor of breast-feeding is crucial to increase the rate of nursing. Encouraging breast-feeding will probably decrease the rate of cigarette smoking.