A little more than 7 percent — or close to 1 in 14 — of pregnant women who gave birth smoked in 2016. That's according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the prevalence of pregnant smokers varied widely by factors such as state, age and education level.
At just over 25 percent, women in West Virginia smoked the most during pregnancy, while those in California did so the least at less than 2 percent.
Nearly 11 percent of women ages 20 to 24 smoked while pregnant.
By education level, a little more than 12 percent of pregnant women with a high school diploma or GED smoked, followed by 11.7 percent of those with less than a high school diploma.
Health experts point out one of the study's limitations may be that the data was self-reported, so the rates of pregnant women who smoked may actually be higher.
