Smoking cessation during pregnancy and relapse after childbirth: the impact of the grandmother's smoking status.
OBJECTIVE
Smoking during pregnancy can result in negative effects in exposed children. It is well established that the smoking status of husbands is a major predictor of smoking among pregnant women. It was investigated whether the smoking status of the women's parents and parents-in-law has an impact on smoking cessation during pregnancy and relapse after birth above the smoking status of the husband.


METHODS
An initial sample of 458 women and their husbands was assessed prospectively during a 17-month period after birth regarding smoking habits. Five months after birth the women and their husbands reported the smoking status of their own parents.


RESULTS
Smoking during pregnancy was related to the smoking status of the women's husband and mother. Women with a husband and mother who smoke were more likely to continue smoking. Relapse after smoking cessation during pregnancy was related to the smoking status of the husband and the mother-in-law. The smoking status of the women's father and father-in-law was not related to smoking cessation or relapse.


CONCLUSIONS
The smoking status of the pregnant women's mothers and mothers-in-law is related to fetal and newborn's nicotine exposure. The findings suggest benefits of taking the smoking status of pregnant women's mothers and mothers-in-law into account in smoking prevention programs for pregnant women and mothers with infants.
Department of Personality and Developmental Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. Sakari.Lemola@unibas.ch
Sakari
S
Lemola
Alexander
A
Grob
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000523:psychology*; D012907:Smoking; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D018454:Spouses