Search

Objectives Smoking during pregnancy is harmful for the woman and the unborn child, and the harms raise risks for the child going forward. Indigenous women often have higher rates of smoking prevalence than non-indigenous. Exercise has been proposed as a strategy to help pregnant smokers to quit. Māori (New Zealand Indigenous) women have high rates of physical activity suggesting that an exercise programme to aid quitting could be an attractive initiative. This study explored attitudes towards an exercise programme to aid smoking cessation for Māori pregnant women. Methods Focus groups with Māori pregnant women, and key stakeholder interviews were conducted. Results Overall, participants were supportive of the idea of a physical activity programme for pregnant Māori smokers to aid smoking cessation. The principal, over-arching finding, consistent across all participants, was the critical need for a Kaupapa Māori approach (designed and run by Māori, for Māori people) for successful programme delivery, whereby Māori cultural values are respected and infused throughout all aspects of the programme. A number of practical and environmental barriers to attendance were raised including: cost, the timing of the programme, accessibility, transport, and childcare considerations. Conclusions A feasibility study is needed to design an intervention following the suggestions presented in this paper with effort given to minimising the negative impact of barriers to attendance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Antenatal and postnatal depression can lead to poor outcomes for women and their children. The aim of this study was to explore whether risk factors differ for depression symptoms that are present during pregnancy and/or after childbirth. Methods An ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of 5301 women completed interviews during the third trimester of pregnancy and 9 months after childbirth. Depression symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Depression symptoms (defined as EPDS >12) among participants and associations with pre-pregnancy and pregnancy maternal characteristics were explored using logistic regression. Results The rate of antenatal depression symptoms (ADS) only was 8.5, 5% of women had depression symptoms at 9 months postpartum (PDS) only and 3% experienced depression symptoms at both time points. Perceived stress and Pacific or Asian ethnicity were risk factors for ADS and PDS. Anxiety during and before pregnancy was a risk factor for ADS only while having a pre-pregnancy diagnosis of depression was a risk factor for PDS only. Having ADS increased the odds ratio of PDS by 1.5 (95% CI 1.01-2.30). Conclusions The results supported evidence from previous longitudinal studies that depression symptoms appear to be higher during pregnancy than in the first year following childbirth. The study found that PDS may often be a continuation or recurrence of ADS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women of child bearing age that regularly drink alcohol are at risk for drinking in early pregnancy. Evidence indicates a majority of women stop alcohol consumption on pregnancy recognition. However, there is a dearth of studies reporting on patterns and correlates of drinking in early pregnancy prior to stopping on pregnancy recognition, which the current study aims to address. In 2005, a New Zealand nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted on a random sample of 1,256 women aged 16-40 years. Data were collected via an interviewer-administered questionnaire using a web-assisted telephone interviewing system. Of the 1,256 women who participated, 127 (10 %) were currently pregnant and 425 women (34 %) were previously pregnant. Half of currently pregnant women and 37 % of previously pregnant women reported that they ceased drinking on recognising pregnancy. Women categorised as 'risky drinkers' and those aged 16-24 years had higher odds to drink and binge drink in early pregnancy, compared with non-risky drinkers and women of other age categories respectively. A majority of women stop alcohol consumption on pregnancy recognition but prior to this, drink at levels posing a risk for the developing foetus. Women most at risk for drinking and binge drinking in early pregnancy were younger in age and exhibited risky drinking behaviour prior to pregnancy. A targeted intervention to reduce the risk for an alcohol exposed pregnancy is warranted for sexually active younger women in New Zealand and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]