Smoking Cessation During Pregnancy Is Focus of Study

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Despite warnings from experts and media campaigns marketing healthy living techniques, approximately one-third of women of childbearing age smoke cigarettes and 25-50 percent of women smoke during pregnancy.

A research team at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) has responded to this problem with a new study focused on a smoking cessation program specifically for pregnant women.

The study is funded by a $1.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Director's Office of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded to lead investigator Clara M. Bradizza, Ph.D. Bradizza is a senior research scientist at RIA and research assistant professor of psychiatry in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

"Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is a significant public-health issue that can have profound effects on women's health and the health of the developing fetus," Bradizza stated. "Currently, we do not know of any smoking cessation intervention that has demonstrated effectiveness with pregnant women, and particularly low-income pregnant women."

According to Bradizza, smoking among pregnant women is associated with high levels of negative affect. "These negative feelings play a key role in the maintenance of smoking behavior and makes quitting smoking during pregnancy more difficult," she added. "This study will combine development of coping skills and regulation of emotions as an approach to address the role of negative feelings in stopping smoking."

The goals of this project include development of a smoking cessation treatment manual followed by a randomized clinical trial pilot study.

Long-term, this research aims to increase smoking cessation rates among pregnant smokers, resulting in significant long-term health benefits for both mothers and their infants. In addition, a treatment protocol for doctors and other clinicians to use with patients will be developed.

Bradizza's co-investigators on the study are Rina Eiden, Ph.D., RIA senior research scientist, research associate professor of pediatrics in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and research associate professor of psychology in the UB College of Arts and Sciences; Paul R. Stasiewicz, Ph.D., RIA senior research scientist, director of RIA's outpatient clinic, and research professor of psychiatry in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; and Thomas H. Brandon, Ph.D., of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida.

The Research Institute on Addictions has been a leader in the study of addictions since 1970 and a research center of the University at Buffalo since 1999.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.