Effect of Smoking During Pregnancy on Growth Data of Newborn Infants [Article in Bosnian]

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the effect of smoking during pregnancy on the physical growth data of newborns. This prospective study was performed at the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University Clinical Centre Tuzla in the period from January 2001 to December 2004. 300 newborn infants chosen at random, whose mothers had smoked more than 15 cigarettes per day during pregnancy were compared to a control group of 300 newborns of non-smoking mothers. Four parameters were examined: birth weight, length, head circumference and chest circumference. The birth weight in the investigated group was less than 2500 grams in 156 (52%) infants compared to only 36 (12%) cases in the control group. All the other investigated growth measures in the investigated group were less than in the control group: the mean birth weight was less by 411.96 grams; the mean length at birth was less by 1.41 cm, the mean head circumference was less by 1.99 cm and the mean chest circumference was less by 2.02 cm. All the differences were significant at the level of p<0.05. It is concluded that smoking during pregnancy has a deleterious effect upon the newborns' physical growth.