New Mothers Should Be Asked About Smoking Habit

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New mothers should be asked whether they smoke cigarettes and, if so, how many a day. A study reported by Medscape's Alice Goodman from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 59th Annual Clinical Meeting indicates that smoking may be a sign that the mothers are suffering from postpartum depression. The finding came from a survey from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, a project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also, depression was strongly associated with the number of cigarettes smoked; it was found in 13% of nonsmokers, 22% of light smokers (10 or fewer cigarettes per day), and 29% of those who smoked more than 10 cigarettes per day.

The study was based on a survey of a random sample of 8,074 new mothers in Maryland who delivered babies between 2004 and 2008. Participants completed the survey between 2 and 9 months after delivery.

More information on postpartum depression is posted at http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/45/18/18.1.full and http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/42/13/1.1.full