Newly Pregnant Smokers Have a 15-Week Window to Quit

Study shows those who do drop risk of premature birth, smaller babies

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

Related Encyclopedia • Acne • Adenocarcinoma of the Lung and Brain Metastases • AIDS and HIV Infection • Amenorrhea More... Related Healthscout Videos Optimistic Healing Early Babies: How Soon is Too Soon? Aqua Lipo Cancer Treatment for Any Size More... Related Animations • Breast Reduction • Breast Self-Exam Video • Colon Cancer • Erectile Dysfunction More... Related Drug Information • Actonel • Cialis • Detrol LA • Diflucan More... Related News Articles • Drugs Provide Same Benefit as Angioplasty for Diabetics, at Lower Cost • Study: Migraine Raises Risk of Stroke • Focusing on School Could Prevent Teen Pregnancies • Low Vitamin D Tied to Estrogen Decline More...

THURSDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women who quit smoking before the 15th week of pregnancy reduce their risk of premature birth and having small babies to that of nonsmoking women, a new study finds.

It's known that smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, premature birth, small babies, stillbirth and neonatal death, but no study until now has determined whether stopping smoking in early pregnancy reduces the risks of small babies and premature births, the study authors said.

Text Continues Below

---

"Pregnant women who smoke should be encouraged and assisted to become smoke-free early in pregnancy," said lead researcher Dr. Lesley McCowan, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

Women who don't quit smoking by 15 weeks are three times more likely to give birth prematurely and twice as likely to have smaller babies, compared to women who stopped smoking, McCowan said.

The findings were published in the March 27 online issue of BMJ.

For the study, McCowan's team collected data on 2,504 pregnant women. Eighty percent did not smoke, 10 percent had quit smoking and 10 percent were current smokers.

There was no difference in the rate of spontaneous premature birth between women who did not smoke and those who had stopped by week 15 (4 percent vs. 4 percent). The same was true for having smaller babies (10 percent vs. 10 percent), the researchers found.

However, women who continued to smoke had higher rates of spontaneous preterm birth than woman who quit (10 percent vs. 4 percent) and higher rates of smaller babies (17 percent vs. 10 percent).

The study also found that women who stopped smoking weren't more stressed than women who continued to smoke, McCowan noted.

"Health professionals who care for pregnant women need to ask about smoking, advise about the importance of stopping, and, where possible, refer for extra support early in pregnancy to assist women to become smoke-free," she advised.

Page:  1 | 2 | Next >>