Pregnant Women's Receipt of Comprehensive Guideline Recommended Antenatal Care for Smoking.

This article focuses on assessing pregnant women’s reported receipt of comprehensive guideline-recommended smoking cessation care in public maternity services within an Australian local health district. The study found that while nearly all women were asked about smoking status at their first antenatal visit, only about one-third of pregnant smokers received all elements of recommended care, including advice to quit, information on benefits, assistance with quitting, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and referral to Quitline, a telephone counseling service. No significant associations were identified between maternal or service characteristics and receipt of care. The findings suggest that key cessation interventions, particularly NRT and Quitline referrals, are underutilized, highlighting the need to identify barriers and implement strategies to improve comprehensive smoking cessation support during pregnancy.