Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, including details on sids, causes, prevention, statistics.

Maternal Smoking during Pregnancy Increases the Risk of Postnatal Infections in Preterm Neonates.

Jeppesen DL, Nielsen SD, Ersbøll AK, Valerius NH

Department of Paediatrics, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark.

Background: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is known to be associated with perinatal complications such as preterm delivery, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of smoking during pregnancy on the risk of postnatal infections in preterm neonates. Method: We examined 80 preterm infants (gestational age 24-36 weeks), of whom 40% had been exposed to tobacco smoking during pregnancy. Results: Infections occurred in 31 infants. Gestational age and maternal smoking had a significant effect on the occurrence of infections (p < 0.001 and p = 0.015, respectively). An increase in maternal tobacco consumption by 10 cigarettes/day showed an odds ratio of 2.7 (95% confidence interval 1.1-6.4) for occurrence of infections. Conclusions: A significant association between maternal use of tobacco and the occurrence of infections in preterm neonates was found. Thus, campaigns about the damaging effects of tobacco are still warranted. Copyright (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Published 23 January 2008 in Neonatology, 94(2): 75-78.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Research Today. All Rights Reserved.