Tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure during pregnancy: an investigative survey of women in 9 developing nations.
OBJECTIVE
We examined pregnant women's use of cigarettes and other tobacco products and the exposure of pregnant women and their young children to secondhand smoke (SHS) in 9 nations in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.


METHODS
Face-to-face surveys were administered to 7961 pregnant women (more than 700 per site) between October 2004 and September 2005.


RESULTS
At all Latin American sites, pregnant women commonly reported that they had ever tried cigarette smoking (range: 78.3% [Uruguay] to 35.0% [Guatemala]). The highest levels of current smoking were found in Uruguay (18.3%), Argentina (10.3%), and Brazil (6.1%). Experimentation with smokeless tobacco occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and India; one third of all respondents in Orissa, India, were current smokeless tobacco users. SHS exposure was common: between 91.6% (Pakistan) and 17.1% (Democratic Republic of the Congo) of pregnant women reported that smoking was permitted in their home.


CONCLUSIONS
Pregnant women's tobacco use and SHS exposure are current or emerging problems in several low- and middle-income nations, jeopardizing ongoing efforts to improve maternal and child health.
Bloch
Michele
M
Tobacco Control Research Branch, National Cancer Institute, Executive Plaza North, Room 4038, 6130 Executive Blvd, MSC 7337, Bethesda, MD 20892-7337, USA. blochm@mail.nih.gov
Althabe
Fernando
F
Onyamboko
Marie
M
Kaseba-Sata
Christine
C
Castilla
Eduardo E
EE
Freire
Salvio
S
Garces
Ana L
AL
Parida
Sailajanandan
S
Goudar
Shivaprasad S
SS
Kadir
Muhammad Masood
MM
Goco
Norman
N
Thornberry
Jutta
J
Daniels
Magdalena
M
Bartz
Janet
J
Hartwell
Tyler
T
Moss
Nancy
N
Goldenberg
Robert
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D003906:Developing Countries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004484:Ecuador / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006166:Guatemala / Q000453:epidemiology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014583:Uruguay / Q000453:epidemiology; D015024:Zambia / Q000453:epidemiology
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution