State-specific estimates of complete smoke-free home rules among postpartum women, 2010

- We report on data from 26 states and New York City in 2010.
- Prevalence of complete smoke-free home rules was high among postpartum women.
- However, about 120,000 infants are in homes with partial/no smoke-free home rules.
- Disparities exist by state and among certain sub-populations.
- Women, particularly smokers, can be encouraged to maintain 100% smoke-free homes.

BackgroundSecondhand smoke exposure increases an infant's risk of morbidity and mortality. We provide state-specific estimates for and characterize postpartum women with complete smoke-free home rules.MethodsData were analyzed from 26 states and New York City (n = 37,698) from the 2010 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, a population-based survey of women who recently delivered live-born infants. We calculated state-specific estimates of complete rules and assessed associations between complete rules and selected characteristics.ResultsOverall, 93.6% (95% CI: 93.1-94.1) of women with recent live births had complete smoke-free home rules (86.8% [West Virginia] to 98.6% [Utah]). Demographic groups with the lowest percentage of rules were women who smoked during pregnancy/postpartum (77.6%), were non-Hispanic Black (86.8%), never initiated breastfeeding (86.8%), < 20 years of age (87.1%), < $15,000 annual income (87.6%), < 12 years of education (88.6%), unmarried (88.6%), initiated prenatal care late/had no prenatal care (88.8%), had Medicaid coverage (89.7%), had an unintended pregnancy (90.3%), and enrolled in WIC (90.6%).ConclusionsPrevalence of complete smoke-free home rules was high among women with recent live births; however, disparities exist by state and among certain sub-populations. Women, particularly smokers, should be educated during and after pregnancy about secondhand smoke and encouraged to maintain 100% smoke-free homes.