Specialized support from healthcare professionals significantly reduces smoking relapse rates in the year following childbirth.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Postpartum Cessation Success: A study found that women receiving specialized health visitor support were significantly more likely to remain smoke-free one year after giving birth.
- Multimodal Support Model: The BabyBreathe program combines one-to-one counseling from healthcare professionals with digital tools, including an app, text message support, and a physical relapse-prevention kit.
- Long-Term Health Benefits: Maintaining a smoke-free status postpartum reduces the risk of smoking-related diseases for mothers and prevents second-hand smoke exposure for children.
Women who receive health visitor support alongside smoking relapse prevention advice are more likely to remain smoke-free after childbirth, according to research published in BMJ.
The study evaluated the “BabyBreathe” program, which was designed to help women who quit smoking before or during pregnancy maintain their cessation after delivery. The program was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The BabyBreathe scheme provides one-to-one support from trained health visitors, digital tools, text message support, a dedicated website and app, and a relapse-prevention kit sent to families after birth.
“Quitting smoking during pregnancy is an incredible achievement, but staying smoke-free after a baby is born can be just as challenging,” said Caitlin Notley, professor of addiction sciences at UEA’s Norwich Medical School, in a news release. “Too often, support ends once a woman has quit, even though the stressful months after birth are when many women are most at risk of returning to smoking. Our research shows that when health visiting services are trained and supported to deliver specialist relapse prevention advice, they can make a real difference.”
A total of 886 women from England and Scotland who had successfully stopped smoking before or during pregnancy participated in the randomized controlled trial. Participants were assigned to receive either the BabyBreathe intervention or usual care, which offered no specific advice or support to prevent smoking relapse.
For participants who received the intervention as intended, 57.6% remained smoke-free at 12 months in the BabyBreathe group, compared to 49.9% for those receiving usual care.
The support included advice on alternatives to smoking if urges occurred, as well as guidance for partners and family members. Support continued for up to 12 months postpartum during all routine health visitor appointments.
“Health visitors and their teams are uniquely placed to support women in preventing smoking relapse as part of their universal offer,” said Vicky Gilroy, director of innovation and research at the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV). “The findings reinforce the need for all health visitors to receive training in this important area.”
The researchers noted several limitations, including incomplete delivery of the BabyBreathe program for approximately one in five participants due to workforce pressures and administrative issues. The participant group also had higher education levels and lower socioeconomic deprivation than the wider population, which may affect how the findings are applied more broadly.
“Our BabyBreathe study enrolled pregnant women who had quit smoking and showed great promise that a postpartum health visitor support package, if delivered as intended, could make a real difference to supporting them to stay off cigarettes,” said Richard Holland, professor of public health medicine and dean at the University of Exeter Medical School, in a news release.
