Response: How to Use a Window of Opportunity

Margaret Chisolm: It’s accepted that pregnancy is a window of opportunity when women are highly motivated to make behavioral changes. There’s a higher spontaneous quit rate among pregnant smokers than in the general population of smokers. Most of the women in our program are extremely motivated for treatment. In part, primarily, they are concerned about the fetus. Those who are abusing illegal substances also know that they might lose custody of their child if they continue to do so during their pregnancy.