SMOKING DURING PREGNANCY IN BRAZIL: SOCIAL INEQUALITIES

Introduction and objective: Tobacco smoking during pregnancy is associated with adverse perinatal outcomes such as low birth weight, preterm birth and intrauterine growth retardation. The aim of this study was to verify the prevalence of tobacco smoking during pregnancy in Brazil and to determine whether it is associated with sociodemographic characteristics of women. METHODS: This nationwide hospital-based study was performed with 23 894 women in 2011 and 2012. Data was obtained from interviews with puerperal women. The prevalence of pre-gestational smoking, of smoking during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, and of smoking during the entire pregnancy was estimated according to sociodemographic characteristics of women. The chi-square test was used to detect differences between proportions. Results and conclusions: The prevalence of smoking before pregnancy, during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and during the entire pregnancy was of 16%, 9.2% and 7.2% respectively. Most of the women smoked less than 10 cigarettes per day. Higher prevalence of smoking during pregnancy was observed in women with less than 8 years of schooling, who self-reported as black, who didn´t have a paid job, who belonged to lower economic classes, who didn´t live with a partner and who had previous births. Almost 30% of pregnant women who smoked during pregnancy had no prenatal care. Primary health services have an important role in engaging women to prenatal care and in promoting and supporting smoking cessation during pregnancy.