Breaking the Habit: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Pregnancy-Related Smoking Cessation Randomized Controlled Trials

Background: Smoking during pregnancy is a significant issue because of its impact on maternal and fetal health. This study aimed to ascertain the effects of smoking cessation programs on the smoking abstinence rate and pregnancy outcomes. Methods: A meta-analysis of twenty-one RCTs was carried out in accordance with PRISMA standards. The meta-analysis comprised 8149 pregnant smokers. With RevMan (version 5.4), the pooled effect of RR for different smoking cessation interventions was determined. Using the GRADE approach, the certainty was evaluated. I2 statistics and sensitivity analysis were utilized to measure heterogeneity. Egger's test and funnel plot analysis were used to assess publication bias. Results: The pregnant women who received cognitive-behavioral counseling and financial incentives recognized a significant rise in their smoking abstinence rate (RR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.02-1.28, p = 0.03 and RR: 2.37, 95% CI: 1.92-2.93, p < 0.001), but there was no significant difference observed among other behavioral approaches or pharmaceutical therapy. Fetuses born to women in the intervention group had significantly larger birth weights (MD = 94.73, 95% CI = (41.18-58.27), p < 0.001. Conclusions: Pregnant women respond well to cognitive-behavioral counseling and financial incentives for quitting smoking, which improve pregnancy outcomes like birth weight.