Individual motivational interviewing ineffective to encourage pregnant women to quit smoking

Individual motivational interviewing to help pregnant women stop smoking seem ineffective, according to results of a study published in the "British Medical Journal".
In the United States, about a third of pregnant women continue to smoke. It is therefore recommended that follow systematically offer them intensive support to help them stop their addiction practitioners. Motivational interviewing, conducted face-to-face, are the most recommended approach.

In the study by Scottish researchers in Glasgow, the 762 women who were included were regular smokers before pregnancy. All received standard information materials on health and 351 more have been proposed up to five motivational interviews at home with a midwife trained specifically to aid smoking cessation.

To confirm smoking cessation, researchers measured the levels of cotinine (a breakdown product of nicotine in the blood and saliva) in women claiming to have stopped or reduced their cigarette consumption.

They found no differences between the two groups, except a slightly lower number of women who reported smoking a lot in the intervention group compared with the control group.

Just 4.8% of women in the intervention group stopped smoking, against 4.6% of those in the control group and 4.2% of women in the intervention group reduced their consumption, against 6.3 % in the other group, say the authors.

For the latter, this study is very instructive, showing doctors and policy makers that the only behavioral intervention for women very addicted to tobacco and who continue to smoke when they are pregnant is not cost-effective.

They suggest midwives offer rather NRT to pregnant women who continue to smoke and do not stop to arrive alone.