West Virginia leads nation in reduction of women smoking while pregnant

Women in the Mountain State may lead the nation in quitting smoking while pregnant, but the CDC reports the state simultaneously maintain the nation's highest rate of women smoking during pregnancy.

WEST VIRGINIA West Virginia continues to report the nation’s highest rates of cigarette smoking during pregnancy, but new data shows the state is also making the most progress in reducing those numbers.

According to a study from the Birth Injury Lawyers Group, West Virginia saw a 6.9 percentage point decline in the number of women who reported smoking while pregnant from the year 2016 to 2021. That drop, from 25.1 percent in 2016 to 18.2 percent in 2021, was the largest of any state in the country.

The study used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to compare trends in maternal smoking and ranked West Virginia first among the ten states with the greatest reductions. Vermont, Montana, and Kentucky followed with declines of more than five percent.

While the improvement marks significant progress, the most recent CDC data from the 2021 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System shows West Virginia still had some of the highest maternal smoking rates in the country. The report found that 20.2 percent of West Virginia women smoked in the three months before pregnancy, eleven percent smoked during the final trimester, and 15.1 percent smoked after giving birth.

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of complications such as low birth weight, premature delivery, and infant death. Nationally, 5.4 percent of women reported smoking during the last three months of pregnancy in 2021, with West Virginia’s rate more than double that.

The CDC reported that stronger tobacco control policies, including higher cigarette taxes and statewide indoor smoking bans, are associated with lower smoking rates. West Virginia does not have a statewide smoke-free law and maintains one of the lowest cigarette tax rates in the country.

Despite these policy gaps, the recent decline in maternal smoking suggests that efforts to educate and support pregnant women in quitting are beginning to show results. The Birth Injury Lawyers Group called for increased access to prenatal education and smoking cessation programs to continue the trend.

The CDC also reviewed how often health care providers discussed smoking with patients. Most women reported being asked during prenatal visits, but fewer recalled being asked before pregnancy or during postpartum checkups. Among women who smoked before pregnancy, only 69.7 percent said a provider discussed smoking with them after childbirth.

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