Cynthia L. Murray^1*, Sandra P. Small¹, Lorraine Burrage²

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¹ School of Nursing, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada.
² Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Perinatal Program, St. John’s, Canada.
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Abstract: Smoking in pregnancy is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as low birth weight, preterm birth, and perinatal death. Despite widespread public awareness of the deleterious health effects of cigarette smoking, up to a quarter of women in developed countries smoke during their pregnancies. In this hermeneutic phenomenological study, the meaning and experience of smoking in pregnancy were explored. Data were collected through interviews with eight pregnant women from the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Four main themes were identified in the participants’ stories, namely living in a smoking world, suddenly finding myself on a moral low road, navigating my own way to a high road, and not preparing for postpartum smoking pitfalls. Smoking was perceived to be salubrious and the participants painted a picture of dealing with smoking in pregnancy as a daunting, lonely endeavor that required life-altering solutions. With a better understanding of what smoking means to pregnant women who smoke, nurses can help these women forge a new and lifelong way to health and wellness.

Keywords: Addiction, Substance Use, Hermeneutic Phenomenology, Lived Experience, Pregnancy, Tobacco Smoking Cessation

Cite this paper: Murray, C. , Small, S. and Burrage, L. (2014) The Lived Experience of Smoking in Pregnancy. Open Journal of Nursing, 4, 762-773. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2014.411082.

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