A new study found that the number of mothers who smoked at any time during pregnancy fell 41% from 2016 to 2021, with steeper declines among mothers under 20 and Asian mothers. .
The number of mothers who gave birth and smoked during pregnancy will drop from 282,712 between 2016 and 2021, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the National Center for Health Statistics, based on data gleaned from birth certificates. reduced to 168,086. The percentage of mothers who smoked during pregnancy decreased by 36% from 7.2% in 2016 to 4.6% in 2021, an average annual decrease of 8%, with the largest decrease he at 16% from 2020 to 2021.
Maternal smoking prevalence declined across all age groups during the six-year period, ranging from a 6% decline among mothers aged 40 and over to a 47% decline among mothers under age 20, down from 8.5% in 2016. from 4.5%. In 2021 for that young group.
The decline is also occurring across all racial and ethnic groups, with the largest proportion of Asian mothers smoking during pregnancy at 50%, according to the report, from 0.6% in 2016 to 0.3% in 2021. %. The percentage of black mothers who smoked during pregnancy decreased by 37%, from 6% to 3.8%. White mothers decreased 36%, from 10.5% to 6.7%, and Hispanic mothers decreased 33%, from 1.8% to 1.2%.
Prevalence of smoking during pregnancy among Native American or Alaskan Native mothers decreased by 24% from 16.7% in 2016 to 12.7% in 2021, and smoking among Native American or other Pacific Islander mothers decreased from 4.5% to 2.9%. % decreased by 36%. .
Maternal smoking rates during pregnancy ranged from 0.8% in California to 18.2% in West Virginia in 2021.