New National Study Of Pregnant Smokers

The safety and effectiveness of nicotine gum for pregnant smokers who want to quit is the focus of a $1.6 million federal research grant awarded to the University of Connecticut Health Center to be conducted at Hartford Hospital. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the five-year grant is the first national large scale research study of its kind.

National statistics show that approximately 20 percent of pregnant women smoke. Smoking during pregnancy is one of the most important modifiable causes of poor pregnancy outcomes in the United States, according to principal investigator Dr Cheryl Oncken, associate professor of medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology, at UConn Health Center in Farmington.

According to Dr Oncken, pregnant women who quit smoking improve their chance of having a healthy baby and avoiding serious pregnancy problems.

“Our goal is to learn whether alleviating tobacco withdrawal symptoms with nicotine gum can help pregnant women quit smoking and improve birth outcomes,” she said.

“I see the consequences of smoking first hand,” said Dr John Greene, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UConn Health Center and assistant director of Women’s Health at Hartford Hospital who is collaborating in the study.

“The risks of miscarriage, low birth weight, premature delivery, and sudden infant death syndrome would be lowered dramatically if pregnant women quit smoking,” he said.

Despite the risks, the majority of pregnant smokers are unable to quit with behavioral interventions alone. “Quitting early in pregnancy is best, but quitting at any stage of pregnancy has health benefits for both mother and child,” said Dr Oncken.

Also collaborating on the study is Ellen Dornelas, PhD, director of the Behavioral Health Program, Preventive Cardiology, at Hartford Hospital, and assistant professor of medicine at UConn Health Center.