Mayo research shows Alaska Native women attitudes on smoking during pregnancy

Research published by a partnership of Mayo Clinic health disparities researchers, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and the University of Minnesota investigated perceptions of the risks of smoking and reasons Alaska Native women give for smoking during pregnancy. The researchers determined that a majority of pregnant smokers and nonsmokers agreed that smoking during pregnancy could negatively affect the health of their babies. However, nonsmokers were significantly more likely than smokers to view smoking during pregnancy as a risk factor in the baby’s development and to state that addiction was a reason for tobacco use during pregnancy.

Mayo Clinic’s Christi Patten, Ph.D. (CIM ’98), Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, was second author on the paper, published in Ethnicity & Health.

Results from this work may be helpful in advancing research by identifying targets for intervention specific to Alaska Native women receiving prenatal care in Anchorage, Alaska.