This page was updated on February 5, 2004.

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Is smoking during pregnancy harmful to unborn children?

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The answer to this question is an unequivocal YES.

The chance of the pregnancy ending in a miscarriage is increased by 24%

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The chance of the baby being born in the low birth weight category is increased by 82%. These babies have higher morbidity and mortality rates. They often require expensive prolonged hospitalization.

The chance of perinatal mortality (i.e. the infant dies immediately before or soon after birth) is increased by 26%

The risk of SIDS- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome triples if the mother has smoked during pregnancy.

"It is estimated that 25 percent of expectant mothers in the U.S. smoke throughout their pregnancies.According to a report from the Surgeon General, 20 percent of low birth weight births, 8 percent of preterm deliveries and 5 percent of all perinatal deaths could be prevented by eliminating smoking during pregnancy." Mullen

Here is some good news from the Journal of the American Medical Association. JAMA. 2000;283:361-366 "The overall percentage of women who had ever initiated smoking decreased significantly from 44.1% in 1987 to 38.2% in 1996. During that 10-year period, the prevalence of current smoking also decreased significantly among both pregnant women (16.3% to 11.8%) and nonpregnant women (26.7% to 23.6%). Overall, pregnant women were about half (54%) as likely as nonpregnant women to be current smokers during 1987-1996. " Full text: JAMA

A search using Alta Vista on Smoking and Pregnancy, returned the following useful sources of futher information on this topic:

• American Lung Association
• Dr. Kelvin Tan
• American Lung Association Fact Sheet

References: PEDIATRICS Vol. 104 No. 6 December 1999, pp. 1312-1320 Short-term Health and Economic Benefits of Smoking Cessation: Low Birth Weight James M. Lightwood, PhD*, Ciaran S. Phibbs, PhD, and Stanton A. Glantz, PhD§

Involuntary smoking of other peoples tobacco smoke is also bad for women and unborn children.

The following information is courtesy of

Tom Houston, MD

Professor of Public Health and Family Medicine

LSU School of Public Health

Director, Louisiana Tobacco Prevention

1600 Canal Street, Suite 1028

New Orleans, LA 70112

Passive smoke exposure during pregnancy

inhibits normal intrapartum growth;

Increases the risk for low birth weight;

increases the risk for premature birth;

decreases lung function in the newborn;

increase the risk for post-natal infections such as bronchiolitis and middle ear disease;

SIDS sudden infant death syndrome,

and some studies have found an increased risk of

asthma,

behavioral disorders after birth, such as ADHD--but other studies dispute these last two.

Workplace and home exposure to tobacco smoke are both to be avoided.