Uso de álcool e tabaco por gestantes e o conhecimento sobre o malefício destas substâncias

Abstract

Aim: Analyze the knowledge about the harmful effects of alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy in women assisted at the Ambulatory of the University Hospital São Francisco de Paula (HUSFP) of Universidade Católica de Pelotas. Method: Cross-sectional study with 304 pregnant women in prenatal care. It used the T-ace Scale to trace the harmful use of alcohol, Fagerstrom Test (FTND) to measure the addiction degree of pregnant women to nicotine, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) to identify depressive symptoms and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) to evaluate anxiety symptoms. Questions were held to verify the knowledge of pregnant women about the harms of alcohol and tobacco use. Results: Of all pregnant women interviewed, 12,2% used tobacco during pregnancy; 14,1% used alcohol after knowing they were pregnant; 21,5% had depressive symptoms and 29,1% had anxiety symptoms. Of the total sample, 98,4% and 90,7% believed that smoking and drinking, respectively harm women's health and 98,7% and 96% respectively believed that smoking and alcohol drinking during pregnancy impairs the child's health. Conclusion: It is important that information about harmful consequences of tobacco and alcohol during pregnancy is transmitted and emphasized by health professionals, because it is essential that every pregnant woman is aware about all the risks they are being exposed by making use of these substances.