Why Māori women continue to smoke while pregnant

To investigate why some Māori women continue smoking during pregnancy.

An exploratory qualitative study was conducted with 60 pregnant Māori women aged from 17-43. A questionnaire was used to guide the interviews. Responses were categorised using Te Whare Tapa Wha (the four-sided house), an Indigenous theoretical framework.

The women smoked on average 9 cigarettes per day. Many (45%) were very concerned for their baby's health. The main reasons for quitting were for their own and their baby's health. The majority (77%) reported no smoking-related health problems. All the women lived with at least one other smoker. Over half of the participants (62%) predominantly socialised with people who smoked and nearly all said it was easy to smoke in their socialising and work environments. Partners and mothers were the most common source of support or advice to quit, however, often that support person also smoked. There was a lack of understanding of the harms associated with maternal smoking.

Motivation to quit smoking was low. The women all lived with smokers which reportedly made it harder to quit; most of them lived in a smoky environment, where family, friends and coworkers smoked. This highlights the need to include family in cessation interventions.