Moms who smoke

Psychologist Thomas Brandon wants a few good mothers to take part in a smoking cessation study of his own.

The Moffitt researcher wants to know why half of all women who smoke quit while pregnant but begin again after the baby is born. More than 70 percent of new mothers relapse within six months; 90 percent are smoking again within a year.

Funded by a $1.6-million National Cancer Institute grant, the study will test which interventions are most effective in helping mothers quit smoking for life.

"This statistic is especially frustrating -- it is such a tremendous accomplishment when a woman manages to quit during her pregnancy, yet it is such a shame when she later starts up again," Brandon says.

The first phase will use focus groups and interviews to find out what mothers know.

"We want to learn from them what helped them quit smoking and stay quit and what got in their way and made it (too) difficult to stop," says project coordinator Nanette Roach.

Recruitment is proving difficult, says Brandon, who urges those mothers who quit smoking for their babies to sign up to nurture their own health and to provide valuable insight for moms-to-be.

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