Psychosocial interventions for supporting women to stop smoking in pregnancy
Abstract
RATIONALE
Tobacco smoking is a leading preventable cause of pregnancy complications with serious long-term impacts on women and babies. This update is needed to incorporate new evidence and ensure that guidance on psychosocial interventions in pregnancy remains current for policy and practice.
OBJECTIVES
To assess the effects of psychosocial interventions provided to support pregnant women who are currently smoking or have recently quit, on smoking abstinence, continued postpartum abstinence, and infant outcomes.
SEARCH METHODS
We searched Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, four other databases and two trial registers, together with reference checking, citation searching, and contact with study authors to identify studies that are included in the review. The latest search date was November 2025.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
We included randomized controlled trials, cluster-randomized trials, and quasi-randomized controlled trials in pregnant women who smoked cigarettes or have recently quit, comparing psychosocial interventions (counseling, health education, feedback, social support, incentives, exercise) with usual care, less intensive interventions, or alternative interventions. We excluded studies on other forms of tobacco (e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco), environmental tobacco smoke exposure, and those aimed outside of pregnancy (e.g. postpartum interventions).
OUTCOMES
The critical outcome was self-reported and/or biochemically validated smoking abstinence in late pregnancy. The…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 47,361 participants or records.
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