Tobacco (Smoking or Smokeless) Use among Pregnant Women and Its Contributing Factors in India: A Maternal & Child Health Concern

Vijay Kumar Mishra, Public Health Foundation of India
Surbhi Shrivastava , Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes

Background: High prevalence of tobacco use was found among pregnant women in India. The prevalence of tobacco use among pregnant women was found the highest in North-Eastern States to other states of India. The effect of tobacco use is not only limited to their general health but also reproductive health. Objectives: This study has done to understand the prevalence of tobacco use among pregnant women and its association with socio-economic and demographic factors and cessation support received by them; and contributing factors with respect to use of any form of tobacco (smoking or smokeless) in India. Methods: The study utilized data from 4th round of National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-4, 2015-16). The relationship between tobacco use among pregnant women and socio-economic and demographic factors were assessed using Bi-variate logistic regression. Multivariate decompositions were applied to understand contributing factors with respect to tobacco use among poor and non-poor pregnant women. Results: Higher tobacco use was found among pregnant women belonging to poorer socio-economic status [OR-CI,3.03(2.52-3.66)]. Pregnant women who were advised against tobacco use were less likely to continue tobacco use [OR-CI,0.80(0.56-1.16)] than those were not advised. Conclusion: Tobacco use may be reduced by increasing awareness and counselling on quitting tobacco during visits at health care institutions. Healthcare professionals and policy makers need to give special attention on tobacco use among pregnant women as it may create adverse impact on newborn. Keywords: Tobacco Use, SES Factors, Tobacco Cessation, multivariate decomposition

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 Presented in Session P2. Poster Session Ageing, Health and Mortality