According to Georgia Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data, approximately 8 percent or 11,000 pregnant women say they smoked cigarettes during the last three months of their pregnancy. Evidence shows that more than 1/2 of pregnant women who quit smoking resume smoking within six months of giving birth. In addition, more than $4.5 billion per year in direct medical expenditures can be attributed to parental smoking to care for smoking-related problems of newborns, infants and young children, as well as to treat related pregnancy and birth complications. Here are excellent resources for OB staff and patients to help with smoking cessation efforts in pregnancy and beyond. Please feel free to copy these resources for patients and utilize for staff in your office.
- Georgia cAARds Program A new resource program from the Georgia Tobacco Use Prevention Program (GTUPP) and Georgia Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP) for health care providers to help patients with tobacco cessation efforts (including tobacco users with chronic diseases-diabetes, high blood pressure, COPD, asthma, prediabetes as well as pregnant and postpartum tobacco users).
- Smoking Cessation Quit Line brochures can be ordered FREE from the Georgia Department of Public Health. These are an excellent resource for women. Contact: Dwana Calhoun dwcalhoun@dhr.state.ga.us
- Smoking Cessation press release – Smoking Cessation efforts targeted toward new mothers from the Georgia Department of Public Health. These resources are also provided to healthcare professionals in local health departments statewide as well.
- Medication Suggestions Table with descriptive information on its uses.
- Information on Georgia Medicaid Coverage for smoking cessation treatment.
- The 5 Rs and The 5 A’s Approach to help pregnant women quit smoking (Fiore 2008, Melvin 2000, and ACOG 2010).
- A Quit Contract helps motivate patients to stop smoking with an agreed-upon quit date. Patient education materials should be given to the patient to formalize the patient’s decision to quit smoking.
Additional resources:
- Georgia Tobacco Quit Line is a public health service funded by the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) through the Georgia Tobacco Use Prevention Program (GTUPP).
- American Academy of Family Physicians: Includes CME webcasts on tobacco issues and online CME courses in tobacco treatment and dependence.
- American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologist (ACOG) – Smoking Cessation: Prenatal Smoking Clinicians Guide, Smoking Cessation Counseling Tools, and many other smoking cessation during pregnancy resources are available.
- Smoking Cessation For Pregnancy and Beyond: A Virtual Clinic is a newly updated interactive multimedia program based on a virtual practicum model for clinicians of women who are pregnant or in their reproductive years.
- smokefreeMOM text messaging program – Resources for women and health care providers available through the US Department of Health and Human Services to help women get the support they need to quit smoking before or during pregnancy.