The relationship between asthma and smoking during pregnancy

Asthma is the most common and potentially serious medical problem encountered in pregnancy. The prevalence of asthma during pregnancy is generally quoted as being between 1% and 4% which is much lower than general population estimates. The aim of this analysis was to estimate the prevalence of asthma and smoking during pregnancy; and to describe the relationship between the two. A cross-sectional random sample survey of recently delivered Western Australian mothers was carried out in 1995 and 82% of mothers responded. In total 21.3% of women reported ever having asthma at some stage in their life and 12.4% currently had asthma. These results are consistent with general population estimates. Overall 22.7% of women smoked at some stage in pregnancy, which is consistent with the limited comparison data available. Current asthmatics were more likely to smoke during pregnancy than non-asthmatics, although this difference was not statistically significant. Continued vigorous efforts are required to discourage all women and girls from taking up smoking and to encourage those who smoke to quit. This is particularly pertinent for asthmatic women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy.

Listeria awareness among new mothers in Western Australia

OBJECTIVE

To assess awareness, knowledge and behaviour relating to Listeria among recent mothers (12 weeks post-partum) in Western Australia and determine the usefulness of a Listeria information pamphlet.

METHOD

A postal survey of a random 10% sample of Western Australian mothers whose babies were born between 1 January and 13 April 1997.

RESULTS

Of the 680 women surveyed, 509 (75%) responded and 451 (89%) respondents had heard of Listeria. The 11% who had not heard of Listeria had higher odds of living in a rural area, speaking a foreign language at home, having less formal education, being younger, having had an unplanned pregnancy, and having not taken folic acid supplements. Respondents who had seen the Listeria pamphlet had greater odds of correctly identifying foods at risk of Listeria. Of the women who had heard of Listeria, 90% had avoided certain foods during their pregnancy. Risk factors for not changing eating behaviour were similar to those for not having heard of Listeria.

CONCLUSIONS

Factors associated with not having heard of Listeria, not having seen the pamphlet and not having changed behaviour were similar, suggesting that there may be a group of women who are less likely to be aware of Listeria or other health issues and/or may be resistant to health-related behaviour changes.

IMPLICATIONS

The Listeria pamphlet is an effective medium for educating pregnant women about Listeria. Rural, young, single and non-English speaking background women may require a different or supplementary approach.

Singleton and twin confinements associated with infertility treatments

A cross-sectional sample of 150 singleton and 159 twin confinements delivered in Western Australia in 1991 were randomly sampled in 1993; 63% of the women responded to a postal questionnaire. Thirteen percent of respondents with singletons and 26% of those with twins reported having problems conceiving at some stage in their life. Six percent of those who had singleton confinements and 22% of those women who had twin confinements sought fertility advice prior to the conception of the index pregnancy. One percent (95% CI 0.03%, 5.5%) of women with singletons received infertility treatment compared with 17% (95% CI 10.4%, 26.3%) of those with twins. Overall 82.7% (95% CI 75.2%, 90.1%) of twin confinements followed spontaneous conception, 11.2% (95% CI 5.7%, 19.2%) followed ovarian stimulation treatment alone and 6.1% (95% CI 2.3%, 12.9%) followed IVF or GIFT procedures. The probability of a spontaneous twin confinement was 1 in 95. It was concluded that nearly twice as many twin pregnancies were associated with ovarian stimulation treatment given alone than with IVF and GIFT combined. The routinely collected data about assisted twin conceptions provide an incomplete picture with regard to the role of different infertility treatment modalities.