Women and Tobacco: gynecologists and midwives must support patients themselves

The seventh National Women & Tobacco meetings, which were held in Angers, emphasized the need for gynecologists and midwives are involved in the management of patients who smoke.

These meetings, organized by the Association perinatal prevention research information (APPRIs), National French College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (CNGOF), the National League against Cancer, the hospital Tobacco-Free Network and the National Association of Midwives French tobaccologists , attended by over 400 participants. A large part of the program concerned smoking and pregnant women, in particular the implementation of the recommendations of the consensus conference "Pregnancy and tobacco" which was held in October 2004.

One of the recommendations was to include a smoking cessation education in initial and continuing education courses for health professionals and education.

This teaching is more, especially in midwifery schools who can prescribe nicotine replacement, note Dr. Jacques Lansac, president of CNGOF in an interview with Reuters Health. But "Midwives France 15,000 are not all trained or all prescribers.

As for obstetricians, they have "not yet turned the corner" to support themselves smokers or patients to prescribe nicotine replacement therapy. "In practice, rather directs patients to a smoking addiction," he says.

"However, smoking cessation clinics are 'overbooked' and patients can wait three months," he notes. Meanwhile, the pregnancy progresses and the patient continues to smoke.

"We need to improve the management of patient smoking. An approach is essential for the general practitioner, midwife, gynecologist are trained and involved," he pleads. There are often a seminar on addictive behavior in the initial curriculum generalists and midwives, the effects of this training will feel slow, he says.

For obstetricians, however, "we must add a layer," teaching focuses primarily on surgery, he says.