An exploration of the effects of partner smoking, type of social support, and stress on postpartum smoking in married women who stopped smoking during pregnancy

Partner smoking, general social support, partner support for quitting, and stress were examined in a sample of 72 pregnant women who spontaneously quit smoking and had a steady partner. Women whose partners provided them with general social support but smoked were more likely to return to smoking than women whose partners provided them with general social support and did not smoke. General social support, partner support for quitting, and stress were not associated with postpartum return to smoking. Emotional social support from the partner was related to perceived stress both in pregnancy and postpartum. Contributions of this study include development of an intervention that educates partners about the influence of their smoking on new mothers' maintenance and a description of the psychosocial environment of pregnant spontaneous quitters.

Duke Scholars

Author Kathryn IIonka Pollak Population Health Sciences