Skip to main content

Indicator Gauge Icon Legend

Legend Colors

Red is bad, green is good, blue is not statistically different/neutral.

Compared to Distribution

an indicator guage with the arrow in the green the value is in the best half of communities.

an indicator guage with the arrow in the yellow the value is in the 2nd worst quarter of communities.

an indicator guage with the arrow in the red the value is in the worst quarter of communities.

Compared to Target

green circle with white tick inside it meets target; red circle with white cross inside it does not meet target.

Compared to a Single Value

green diamond with downward arrow inside it lower than the comparison value; red diamond with downward arrow inside it higher than the comparison value; blue diamond with downward arrow inside it not statistically different from comparison value.

Trend

green square outline with upward trending arrow inside it green square outline with downward trending arrow inside it non-significant change over time; green square with upward trending arrow inside it green square with downward trending arrow inside it significant change over time; blue square with equals sign no change over time.

Compared to Prior Value

green triangle with upward trending arrow inside it higher than the previous measurement period; green triangle with downward trending arrow inside it lower than the previous measurement period; blue equals sign no statistically different change  from previous measurement period.

green chart bars Significantly better than the overall value

red chart bars Significantly worse than the overall value

light blue chart bars No significant difference with the overall value

gray chart bars No data on significance available

More information about the gauges and icons

Mothers who Smoked During Pregnancy

City: District of Columbia
Measurement Period: 2017-2018
This indicator shows the percentage of births that were to mothers who smoked and/or used tobacco during pregnancy.

Why is this important?

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy complications, preterm delivery, birth defects and low birth weight in infants. Providing screening and counseling during prenatal care visits can help pregnant individuals stop smoking (Healthy People 2030, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Population-based interventions, like cigarette price increases, media campaigns, and comprehensive smoke-free laws, can also help prevent pregnant people from smoking (Healthy People 2030).    

Considerations for Equitable Approaches: A commitment to health equity involves understanding health disparities related to commercial tobacco* and underlying factors that lead to disparities in smoking. Evidence shows variations in tobacco retailer concentration in certain communities may contribute to disparities in tobacco use as tobacco retailer density is greater in areas with higher proportions of households receiving public assistance, as well as counties with a higher proportion of African American residents, same-sex couples, and rural residents (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Smoking and Health).   

*“Commercial tobacco” means harmful products that are made and sold by tobacco companies. It does not include “traditional tobacco” used by Indigenous groups for religious or ceremonial purposes.  

Inclusive Language Recommendations: As not all people who are pregnant identify as women, recommendations for more gender-inclusive language include using "pregnant people" and "pregnant patients" or other wording as applicable when referring to general recommendations for pregnancy (National Institutes of Health).  

The Healthy People 2030 national health target is to decrease cigarette smoking among pregnant women to 4.3 percent.
More...
2.6%
Source: District of Columbia Department of Health
Measurement period: 2017-2018
Maintained by: Conduent Healthy Communities Institute
Last update: October 2023

Graph Selections

Indicator Values
  • Download JPEG
  • Download PDF
  • Download CSV
  • Chart options:
  • Enable zero-based y-axis
Change in methodology for 2015-2016:
Source reports changed period of measure. Use caution when comparing to other periods.
Select a comparison
View maps, graphs, and tables for this indicator by selecting other location types (above).

Data Source

Filed under: Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Health Behaviors, Women