The Effects of Passive Smoking on Pregnancy Outcome, Hajar Hospital, Shahrekord

Adverse health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) among non-smokers have been studied occasionally in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of exposure to ETS on outcome in pregnancy

In this descriptive and analytical study 600 non-smoking women delivering a singleton live baby were studied in delivery room in Hajar hospital in Shahrekord . A pre-designed structured questionnaire was used to record the details of exposure to ETS . Mother and infants outcomes were compared among those who were exposed to ETS vis-à-vis not exposed . We used spss software for analysis of data . Unpaired Student t-test was used for the comparison of continuous variables and Fisher’s Exact test was used for categorical variables. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed after including all variables found to have significant differences on univariate analysis.

Of the 600 women studied 236 (39.3%) were exposed to ETS. In these mothers there was a significantly higher incidence of pre-term birth (15.2% versus 7.9% , P = 0.001) and small-for-gestation babies (15.4% versus 6.8% , P= 0.0001) as compared to unexposed mothers. The mean birth weight of the babies born to the mothers exposed to ETS was 139 g less than that of babies in the unexposed group (3094.49 ±402 g versus 3233.99 ±443 g respectively, P= 0.001). The incidence of anemia was higher in exposed than unexposed mothers (P= 0.005) . The multiple logistic regression analyses showed that ETS exposure during pregnancy was significantly associated with a higher risk of small-for-gestation babies .

Exposure to ETS during pregnancy is associated with higher risk of having a small-for-gestation baby.