Breast-feeding and smoking habits among Israeli women.

BACKGROUND Many women stop smoking before or during pregnancy, or while breast-feeding (nursing). OBJECTIVES To assess the relation between breast-feeding and smoking habits. METHODS A survey was conducted among 920 women attending family health clinics (group 1) and a maternity department (group 2) on their breast-feeding and smoking habits. RESULTS A total of 156 women (16.95%) smoked during pregnancy. A significant correlation was found between breast-feeding and not smoking after delivery (P = 0.009 in group 1, P = 0.03 in group 2). A higher tendency to nurse was found among women with an uneventful pregnancy, who vaginally delivered a singleton at term weighing 2,500-4000 g, and who received guidance on breast-feeding. CONCLUSION Professional guidance in favor of breast-feeding is crucial to increase the rate of nursing. Encouraging breast-feeding will probably decrease the rate of cigarette smoking.