Trends in Tobacco Smoking in Pregnant Women: Data From French National Perinatal Surveys

Objectives - To describe maternal smoking trends in France between 1972 and 2016 and to identify whether maternal characteristics associated with smoking in the 3rd trimester evolved between 2010 and 2016. Methods – Using the French National Perinatal Surveys (11,733 women in 2016), we estimated smoking rates and the number of cigarettes smoked just before pregnancy and during the 3rd trimester since 1972. We studied associated risks factors using Poisson model with robust variance. Results - Cessation rates were relatively stable throughout the study period (46.0% in 1972 and 45.8% in 2016), however the number of cigarettes smoked just before and in 3rd trimester decreased since 1995. Yet, smoking rates remained high before (30.1%) and during pregnancy in 2016 (16.2%). Smoking in the 3rd trimester was associated with lower education level and lower income in both 2010 and 2016, whereas the association with age, country of birth and parity varied according to the survey year. Conclusions – Interventions targeting women before they plan for pregnancy, and actions are needed taking into account the smoker’s characteristics during pregnancy.