The Indiana Prenatal Substance Use Prevention Program: its impact on smoking cessation among high-risk pregnant women

The Indiana Prenatal Substance Use Prevention Program (PSUPP) was established in 1988 to help pregnant women quit cigarette smoking as well as alcohol and drugs. PSUPP directors implement the Screen, Intervene and Follow-up (SIF) model to assess substance use and provide services to help clients stop smoking. During fiscal year 1995, almost 25,000 individuals were impacted directly or indirectly by the PSUPP. Of these, 1,334 pregnant women were screened for substance use by PSUPP. Of the 987 women identified with a known substance use risk factor, 42.4% (418) were high-risk smokers (more than five cigarettes per day) and 9.9% (98) were medium-risk smokers (smoking between one and four cigarettes per day). PSUPP directors counseled their high/medium risk smokers an average of four times during their pregnancy. The PSUPP appears to be effective in getting high-risk smokers to change their smoking behavior during their pregnancy. Approximately one-half (49.9%) of the 516 high- or medium-risk smokers decreased or quit smoking while participating in the PSUPP. When surveyed, about 80% of the PSUPP participants stated that the knowledge they gained through PSUPP relative to tobacco use was "very helpful." Only two-thirds of the PSUPP clients responded that they "strongly agreed" with the statement that tobacco use causes babies to have a lower birth weight. While pregnancy may provide the "teachable moment" for women who smoke, more attention needs to be placed on making women more aware of the risks involved with smoking during pregnancy.