This year’s First Breath Tobacco Cessation Conference was held on Thursday, March 8th in Johnson Creek and focused on the theme of “Difficult Conversations: How to have them and why they are important.” The conference center was filled with nearly 120 First Breath providers, eager to learn more about First Breath’s new model and to gain valuable information to help them better serve moms and families who are looking to cut back or quit smoking.
We were joined by so many dynamic and knowledgeable speakers (Christina Wichman DO, FAPM, Froedert & Medical College of Wisconsin, Marie Walter, MS, RN, C-EFM, CPLC, Gundersen Health System, and Megan Piper, PhD, UW-CTRI), who helped us explore difficult conversation topics such as perinatal mental health disorders, perinatal death, and social network influence on smoking cessation. Many of the attendees leaving at the end of the conference said they felt the content was very useful and helped increase their knowledge:
“Very engaging – great information to use in regular work”
“Refreshing and a great reminder to keep working hard for these families.”
“I really enjoyed and learned a lot from the ‘difficult conversations.’ Continuing to normalize tough conversations is so important!”
The day concluded with a panel discussion on family’s influence on smoking cessation that was described by one attendee as “knowledgeable, compassionate, and empathetic.” To give everyone a taste of the wonderful information we received at the conference, we wanted to share a few of the questions and summarized responses from the panel.
The panel was comprised of moderator, Krissy Alaniz, MPH, with the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation, and four panelists: Darnell Pope, Harambee Village, Tia Murray, BS, CLC, Harambee Village, Ann Jamison, MS, MFT, The Family Center, and Amanda Brenden, CTTS, Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation:
How do you engage kids who want to get involved or provide support with smoking cessation?
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Have kids help create motivational posters for mom. – Ann
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Involve them with educational materials like using coloring books. – Tia
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Kids are honest and persistent. They will remind you and tell you not to smoke. They reflect back on you and mirror your actions. – Tia
Where does a father’s role come into play?
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Fathers are often forgotten, but if you can create an opportunity for peer to peer engagement (i.e. cooking night, playing basketball) with them and develop rapport, you create an opportunity to discuss important topics like tobacco and smoking. – Darnell
How does one deal with feelings of guilt or shame that come along with smoking during pregnancy?
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Quitting = compassion + quit. Remind women that the road will be difficult, but we are going to be kind to ourselves – as kind as we would be to others. – Ann
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It’s important to focus on moving forward. You can’t go back and change the past, but you CAN control future actions and make healthier choices moving forward. – Amanda
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Incorporate the use of mindfulness. Self-compassion and coping techniques can help you get through those discouraging moments. – Tia
How does someone understand a smoking addiction if they have never been around smokers or had a personal experience with it?
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Everyone has done something compulsive. We have all been addicted to something (i.e. Facebook, instagram, food). You may not be able to relate to the physical chemical addiction of smoking, but you can widen your lens by thinking of your own compulsive habits and use that perspective to understand someone else’s. – Ann
A huge thanks to everyone who participated in the conference! If you are interested in learning more about the First Breath program – a free, statewide program that helps pregnant and postpartum women and their families quit smoking – visit https://wwhf.org/first-breath/.