Smoking is bad for babies: Obstetric care providers' use of best practice smoking cessation counseling techniques

Purpose. To use direct observations of first prenatal visits to describe obstetric providers' adherence to the evidence-based clinical practice guideline for smoking cessation counseling recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the 5 A's (Ask, Advice, Assess, Assist, and Arrange). Design. Observational study using audio recordings of first obstetric visits. Setting. An urban academic hospital-based clinic. Participants. Obstetric care providers and pregnant women attending their first obstetric visit. Method. First obstetric visits were audio recorded. Visits were identified in which patients reported smoking, and discussions were analyzed for obstetric providers' use of the 5 A's in smoking cessation counseling. Results. Obstetric providers asked about smoking in 98% of the 116 visits analyzed, but used 3 or more of the 5 A's in only 21% (24) of visits. In no visits did providers use all 5 A's. In 54% of the visits, providers gave patients information about smoking, most commonly about risks associated with perinatal smoking. Conclusion. Few obstetric care providers performed the recommended 5 A's smoking cessation counseling with their pregnant smokers. Effective and innovative methods are needed to improve obstetric providers' use of the 5 A's.