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The Relationship Between Maternal–Fetal Attachment and Cigarette Smoking Over Pregnancy

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Abstract

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is one of the most preventable causes of infant morbidity and mortality, yet 80 % of women who smoked prior to pregnancy continue to smoke during pregnancy. Past studies have found that lower maternal–fetal attachment predicts smoking status in pregnancy, yet past research has not examined whether maternal–fetal attachment predicts patterns or quantity of smoking among pregnant smokers. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal–fetal attachment and patterns of maternal smoking among pregnant smokers. We used self-reported and biochemical markers of cigarette smoking in order to better understand how maternal–fetal attachment relates to the degree of fetal exposure to nicotine. Fifty-eight pregnant smokers participated in the current study. Women completed the Maternal–Fetal Attachment Scale, reported weekly smoking behaviors throughout pregnancy using the Timeline Follow Back interview, and provided a saliva sample at 30 and 35 weeks gestation and 1 day postpartum to measure salivary cotinine concentrations. Lower maternal–fetal attachment scores were associated with higher salivary cotinine at 30 weeks gestation and 1 day postpartum. As well, women who reported lower fetal attachment reported smoking a greater maximum number of cigarettes per day, on average, over pregnancy. Lower maternal–fetal attachment is associated with greater smoking in pregnancy. Future research might explore whether successful smoking cessation programs improve maternal assessments of attachment to their infants.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (R01 DA019558) to L.R.S. and a Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute Clinical Innovator Award to L.R.S.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Susanna R. Magee

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Margaret H. Bublitz, Amy Salisbury & Laura R. Stroud

  3. Division of State Health Laboratories, RI Department of Health, Providence, RI, USA

    Christina Orazine

  4. Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam and Lifespan Hospitals, Pawtucket, RI, USA

    Bridget Brush

  5. Department of Pediatrics, Women & Infants Hospital, Providence, RI, USA

    Amy Salisbury

  6. Department of Pediatrics, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Amy Salisbury

  7. Schroder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies, American Legacy, Washington, DC, USA

    Raymond Niaura

  8. Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Washington, DC, USA

    Raymond Niaura

Authors
  1. Susanna R. Magee
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  2. Margaret H. Bublitz
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  3. Christina Orazine
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  4. Bridget Brush
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  5. Amy Salisbury
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  6. Raymond Niaura
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  7. Laura R. Stroud
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susanna R. Magee.

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Magee, S.R., Bublitz, M.H., Orazine, C. et al. The Relationship Between Maternal–Fetal Attachment and Cigarette Smoking Over Pregnancy. Matern Child Health J 18, 1017–1022 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-013-1330-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-013-1330-x

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