Air pollultion prevantive behavior among pregnant women: a theory based study

Objective (s): Exposure to air pollution has been associated with higher adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the stages of behavior change towards air pollution among pregnant women using the stage of change theory. In this cross sectional study a sample of pregnant women who referred to three health centers located in different geographic regions of Tehran were randomly selected and assessed. The inclusion criteria were age between 18 and 35 years، having the history of pregnancies without adverse outcomes، not suffering from chronic disease during the present pregnancy and being satisfied to taking part in the study. Data were collected by a standard questionnaire based on stage of change theory. In all 200 eligible pregnant women with mean age of 26. 9±4. 8 participated in the study. The analysis of data showed that most women (51%) were at pre-action stages. Only 16% of pregnant women were identified at action stage. The findings suggest that a relatively high proportion of pregnant women are at pre-action stages of behavior changes towards exposure to air pollution. The need for further investigation and perhaps necessary action is recommended.