title: Lifestyle habits and women's attitudes towards discussing them at a visit for contraceptive advice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aims of this study was to use visits for contraceptive counselling as opportunities for examining women's actual life style habits with the main focus being placed on alcohol consumption but also to evaluate the women's opinions about discussing their alcohol and tobacco habits and their weight status.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 535/802 (67%) women completed a study-specific anonymous questionnaire after a contraceptive counselling visit with a midwife.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A majority of the women thought that a discussion concerning alcohol habits at a contraceptive counselling session was important (85.5%) and not intrusive (86.4%) neither embarrassing (81.7%). Women with high-risk drinking habits were younger, more often tobacco users and more often planning for childbirth in the future, compared with women who did not display high-risk drinking behaviour. A significantly higher percentage of women who practiced high-risk drinking thought that a discussion of alcohol was intrusive (10.9%) and embarrassing (46.7%), compared with women not practicing high-risk alcohol consumption. Most women (72.9%) stated that no other caregiver during the preceding year except the midwife had discussed drinking habits with them. The weight was a good thing that the midwife brought up for discussion according to 82.5% of the women but the discussions about weight was more often found embarrassing (18.4%) than the discussion about alcohol habits.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women who came for contraceptive counselling found the discussion concerning alcohol habits important, not intrusive or embarrassing and a good thing to be brought up by the midwife.
authors: Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Linköping, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. Electronic address: Ing-Marie.Claesson@liu.se.
authors: Ing-Marie
authors: IM
authors: Claesson
authors: Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Linköping, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Hultgren
authors: Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Linköping, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors: Marie
authors: M
authors: Blomberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001290:Attitude; D001835:Body Weight; D003142:Communication; D003267:Contraception; D037001:Directive Counseling; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008880:Midwifery; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012907:Smoking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol drinking; Body weight; Contraception; Counselling; Life style; Tobacco