In this activity, you will examine attitudes towards women who smoke during pregnancy and the actions healthcare providers should take to improve the access and quality of care to these patients.

Step 1: Reflect

Reflect on attitudes towards motherhood and pregnancy in your country/community/place of work. Consider the following:

• Stigmatizing ideas/beliefs/cultural practices in any of the settings above as it relates to women who smoke generally.
• How the practices/ideas/beliefs identified above may deter women from seeking healthcare or assistance for tobacco cessation during pregnancy.
• How healthcare providers, clinics, and hospitals can encourage tobacco users who are pregnant to seek healthcare and tobacco cessation services.

Step 2: Write

Create a short discussion post (300-400 words) with your answers to Step 1 above.

Step 3: Share

To share your work, click on the “Add a new discussion topic” button under the post and paste your work in the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 4: Interact

To complete this activity, you will need to reply respectfully and professionally to at least one post made by your peers. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.” If your peer(s) comment(s) on your post(s), please reply.  Feel free to interact with the work done by other peers as well!

OPTIONAL Step 5: Interact (10 minutes)

If you would like to, you can reply to your peers' posts in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.”