(AP)
Updated: 2007-09-11 19:44

WASHINGTON - More than one in 10 pregnant women smoke, and new research suggests many of them also may suffer from depression, making kicking the habit even harder.

The emerging science suggests that decades-old "quit for your baby" messages are too simplistic an approach for many women - and that perhaps prenatal checkups should include screening pregnant smokers for mental health disorders that themselves require care.

"These ladies all know, I promise you, about the health risks. That's not what it is," says Dr. Jan Blalock of the University of Texas M.D Anderson Cancer Center, which has begun a first-of-a-kind study, Project Baby Steps, to test whether non-drug depression therapy helps pregnant smokers quit.

"We should at least understand more about why these ladies don't quit. We should be looking more carefully instead of just saying, 'Whoop, got this group of hard-core smokers.'"

Nearly 45 million Americans, or one in five adults, smoke. Quitting takes on average three to five attempts, and scientists know it's harder if the smoker has depression or anxiety disorders. In fact, one prescription anti-smoking pill is actually the old antidepressant Wellbutrin sold under a different name, Zyban.

Certainly learning how dangerous smoking is to their developing baby can prompt women to try to quit. It increases the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, low birthweight, death from SIDS, and learning and behavior disorders.

But only recently have researchers begun to delve into why, despite the enormous stigma, so many pregnant smokers don't quit. The government estimates about 12 percent of pregnant women smoke.

Dr. Renee Goodwin, a Columbia University epidemiologist, tracked more than 1,500 pregnant women who took part in a larger study of Americans' health. A surprising 22 percent smoked at some point during pregnancy, and about 12 percent were classified as nicotine-dependent.

Pregnant smokers were typically poor, less educated and had less access to health care.

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