Table of ContentsLiterature ReviewHypothesesMethods and PopulationData CollectionData AnalysisResults and FindingsDiscussion and ImplicationsApparently, smoking during pregnancy is detrimental to both the mother's life and her of the fetus. Studies have confirmed that most parents are aware of the harms of smoking, but are determined to quit. Currently, it is estimated that more than 10% of European women smoke, while only 5% of Japanese women have this harmful habit. However, among these women, only a few women are pregnant, according to Goszczynska, Knol-Michalowska and Petrykowsa. The authors of this article argue that most women who smoke during pregnancy are of low socioeconomic status. Since most of them become addicted to drugs, it has finally become difficult to advise these women about the dangers of tobacco. The problem is that they have their own justifications for smoking during pregnancy. Although most health professionals play an important role in discouraging women from smoking, most women do not give up the habit. The authors of the article believe that medical professionals fail because they do not use effective methods. Instead, they view their narrow, one-sided education as the only mitigation strategy to help these women. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayLiterature ReviewMothers and their babies share a bond with each other through the umbilical cord. The fetus receives its nourishment from the mother via the umbilical cord. Therefore, it is imperative that mothers refrain from dangerous habits like smoking if they are to reduce the risk of birth defects in their children (Popa et al., 2013). Most pregnant women are aware of the harmful effects of smoking on their health. health and that of their fetus, but they find it difficult to stop the habit. As a result, the pressure of wanting to abstain from smoking and knowing that smoking is harmful to their baby causes a psychological problem called cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is a feeling of mental discomfort that occurs when one has two conflicting thoughts at the same time. Therefore, most pregnant women suffer from this psychological problem because their minds harbor two conflicting thoughts. They believe they are good mothers who want to quit smoking, while knowing that they are mothers who want to harm their children. However, most of these women do not quit smoking, even if they try to find ways to reduce the psychological discomfort that comes with it. causes of cognitive dissonance. Studies have established that they often change their perceptions of smoking and pregnancy to reduce cognitive dissonance (Goszczynska et al., 2016). Most researchers believe that some women would explain why it is necessary to smoke during pregnancy. However, these beliefs arise from personal experience and overheard information, as they usually have no scientific basis. Most women who claim that smoking is essential only believe it to justify their addiction. It appears that narrow anti-smoking education has done so little to deter pregnant women from smoking because most arguments from health professionals often contradict existing knowledge. by the personal experience of most pregnant women (Goszczynska et al., 2016). In other words, health professionals cannot dissuadepregnant women from smoking effectively only if they refrain from their prophylactic programs to address the problem from the pregnant woman's point of view. Currently, health professionals are encouraged by academics to first analyze pregnant women's lay justifications for smoking before resuming their prophylactic programs. However, only a few researchers have adopted this method, according to Goszczynska et al. (2016). The advantage of this method over other methods is that it gives researchers the opportunity to study the thought patterns of a pregnant woman before deciding on a mitigation strategy (Goszczynska et al., 2016) . Moreover, most of these women are allowed to rationally justify why they continue to smoke during pregnancy, despite knowing that it is detrimental to their health. Hypothesis The objective of the study was to determine the type of lay justifications that pregnant women use to justify why. they continue to smoke despite the health risks. The study had to present a diversity of reasons for women from all backgrounds, regardless of race and nationality. Methods and population The study was based on data collected on Internet forums from women who presented reasons for smoking during pregnancy. The researchers analyzed the women's thought patterns without affecting the content of their messages. Additionally, the researchers did not contact the participants during the research process (Goszczynska et al., 2016). The research used a sample of 47 women who presented their reasons for smoking during pregnancy. The participants did not belong to any other thematic groups of users in other forums. Furthermore, these women did not belong to a single race; nor were they confined to one age group. The participants were people interested in the topic of parenthood. In other words, they were all pregnant women addicted to tobacco.Data CollectionThe data used for this research was collected from the online forum. The researchers chose the online forum for data collection for two reasons. One was that it gave participants a sense of anonymity. As a result, participants were required to share their true thoughts, while keeping in mind that their true identities were hidden. Another reason is that the online forum is popular among pregnant women (Goszczynska et al., 2016). The research consisted of several stages. First, the researchers identified the best online forums using the Google engine. These forums included babyboom.pl, deck-info-rodzice.pl and mamazone.pl (Goszczynska et al., 2016). Next, the authors entered several words related to tobacco and nicotine. This action led to the identification of 58 discussion threads containing 2,724 messages. Each of these messages contained a simple rationale from all participants. Data analysis All message content was analyzed thematically. First, the researchers used an inductive approach in which the content of the data guided the coding and the development of the theme. Coding has helped in many ways. One of them is that it helped with data aggregation. Coding also helped in sorting the data. Additionally, it helped to group all the subthemes into two main themes. Among these two themes, there was a theme that questioned the need to abstain from smoking and its positive effects on health; another was considering quitting smoking. Results and conclusions The study revealed no rational justification for which most.