Pregnant and postnatal women are butting out in favour of firing up the treadmill as part of a new study at The University of Western Ontario.
Nicole Adkin describes herself as a long-time smoker. When she learned she was pregnant she decided to quit cold turkey, but 18 weeks after she gave birth she lit up again.
Sarah Cotterill, Nicole Adkin and Victoria Laidlow are participating in a study for pregnant and postnatal women trying to stop their cigarette cravings by exercising.
Although she knew the habit was bad for her health, “in your head you can justify it,” she says.
Rather than try to kick it herself, Adkin enlisted the experts. She turned to Faculty of Health Sciences Exercise and Health Psychology Laboratory Director Harry Prapavessis and his research team of Anita Cramp, a post-doctoral fellow, and Therese Harper, a PhD student.
Adkin is among six women participating in a study exploring whether exercise helps pregnant and postnatal women stop smoking.
“I’ve always known I shouldn’t smoke and when I heard about the program, I knew there wasn’t a reason not to do it,” she says. “It’s a lot easier with women who are in the same boat as you.”
Adkin is joined by Sarah Cotterill and Victoria Laidlow, who each gave in to the cravings in the weeks or months after giving birth.
“I quit the day I found out I was pregnant,” says Laidlow. “It was easy to quit because I had the reason.”
Eight months after her daughter was born, she picked up a pack of cigarettes. “Trying to lose the weight I started smoking again. I felt really bad after I started,” she says.
Similarly, Cotterill felt the guilt set in when she started lighting up again.
“I can feel the effects of smoking already,” says the young mother of two. “I don’t want them to worry about my smoking.”
Although smoking during pregnancy may be considered taboo, it is more common than most people think, says Prapavessis.
Post-doctoral fellow Anita Cramp, Exercise and Health Psychology Laboratory Director Harry Prapavessis and PhD student Therese Harper are recruiting pregnant and postnatal women for a study on using exercise to aid smoking cessation.
A 1996 national population health survey showed approximately 31 per cent of Canadian women aged 15-44 used tobacco and of those women, 37 per cent reported smoking during their most recent pregnancy.
The majority of women who quit smoking during pregnancy will relapse during the postpartum period.
Recent studies show exercise is effective in reducing smoking desire, withdraw symptoms and cravings. In these cases, exercise is used as a supplement to smoking cessation therapies, such as nicotine replacement therapies (gum or patches), the use of which is controversial for pregnant and postnatal women.
Given this fact, Prapavessis is focusing on helping women exercise away the cravings.
“They are not very compatible,” says Prapavessis. “People that are active don’t really engage in the negative habit of smoking … By changing one (habit) you have the ability to indirectly change the other.”
Exercise can also help with many of the psychological and physiological side effects associated with quitting, such as weight gain, moodiness and sleeping problems.
As part of the exploratory study, women are asked to participate in two parts: a temporary period of smoking abstinence for about 18 hours followed by a one-time exercise session. Secondly, women can also sign up for an eight-week intervention involving exercising twice a week in the laboratory and a weekly counseling session.
Researchers will follow-up with participants during the transition from exercising in a lab to the home environment to assess its effectiveness in avoiding relapse.
Trying to quit smoking and start exercising can be a big adjustment, says Cramp, which is why participants are asked to select a target quit date four weeks into the intervention.
For those in the prenatal period, Prapavessis is examining possible biological mechanisms, like the stress hormone cortisol, which might explain how exercise works in reducing both the desire to smoke and withdrawal symptoms.
The laboratory offers free childcare for the participants.
Harper, who came to Western from New Zealand, says the results may have significant international implications on the smoking cessation treatments for women who smoke during or after pregnancy, as well as those hoping to stay smoke-free.
Due to the stigma of smoking during pregnancy, researchers say recruitment has been difficult.
The group is looking to recruit pregnant and postnatal women within a year of giving birth from the London area who have quit smoking and want help remaining smoke-free or are currently smoking and want help quitting.
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Therese Harper at tharper2@uwo.ca or Anita Cramp at acramp2@uwo.ca or phone 519-661-3211.
More information is available at https://www.ehpl.uwo.ca/projects.html.