Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2001
Smoking status, reading level, and knowledge of tobacco effects among low-income pregnant women.
Smoking during pregnancy increases the health risks of the unborn child as well as the mother. Although smoking rates for the population as a whole have declined drastically in the past generation, since 1992 there has been an increase in smoking among women, teenagers, and adults living in poverty. The purpose of this study was to assess reading level, tobacco knowledge, attitudes, and practices of tobacco use among pregnant adult and adolescent women in the public health system in north Louisiana. ⋯ Reading level was related to knowledge about health effects of smoking. Women with higher reading levels were also more concerned about the adverse health effects of smoking on themselves and their babies. However, reading level was not correlated with smoking prevalence. The most significant determinant of smoking was race (with whites smoking significantly more than African Americans).