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Tobacco Use and Pregnancy: Home |
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Quitting
Tobacco
1-800-QUIT-NOW
(1-800-784-8669 or TTY 1-800-332-8615)
If you are a tobacco user who has decided to quit,
1-800-QUIT-NOW is a free service that can help. When you call, a
trained quit coach in your state will work with you to help you
quit and avoid the things that tempt you back into the habit.
Free call. Free quit coach. Free quit plan. |
What do we know about tobacco use and pregnancy?
Smoking during pregnancy
Women who quit smoking before or early in
pregnancy significantly reduce the risk for several adverse outcomes.
- Compared with women who do
not smoke—
- Women who smoke prior to
pregnancy are about twice as likely to experience a delay in conception
and have approximately 30% higher odds of being infertile.
- Women who smoke during
pregnancy are about twice as likely to experience premature rupture of
membranes, placental abruption, and placenta previa during pregnancy.
- Babies born to women who
smoke during pregnancy—
- Have about 30% higher odds
of being born prematurely.
- Are more likely to be born
with low birth weight (less than 2500 grams or 5.5 pounds), increasing
their risk for illness or death.
- Weigh an average of 200
grams less than infants born to women who do not smoke.
- Are 1.4 to 3.0 times more
likely to die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Prevalence of smoking during pregnancy
According to 2004 Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System (PRAMS)
data from 26 states—
- Approximately 13% of women reported smoking during the last three
months of pregnancy.
- Younger, less educated,
non-Hispanic, white women and
American Indian women are more likely
to smoke during pregnancy compared to their older, more educated,
counterparts.
- Of women who smoked during the last three months of pregnancy, 52%
reported smoking 5 or less cigarettes per day, 27% reported smoking 6 to
10 cigarettes per day, and 21% reported smoking 11 or more cigarettes
per day.
Secondhand smoke
Exposure to secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children
and adults who do not smoke.
- Between 1988 and 2002, cotinine levels, a biological indicator of
tobacco smoke exposure, declined by approximately 70% among children and
non-smoking adults. Despite this positive trend, in 2002 nearly half of
all children and non-smoking adults still had detectable levels of
cotinine.
- Pregnant women who are exposed to secondhand smoke have 20 percent
higher odds of giving birth to a low birth weight baby than women who
are not exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy.
- Children are at greater risk of being exposed to secondhand smoke
than adults.
- During the period 1999–-2002, almost 40 million children, aged 3–19
years, or about 58% of children in this age group, were exposed to
secondhand smoke.
- Infants who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to
die of SIDS compared to children not
exposed.
- Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased
risk for bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections, more severe asthma,
respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth.
Preventing
Smoking During Pregnancy Fact Sheet
Smoking during pregnancy is the single most preventable cause of illness and
death among mothers and infants. This fact sheet provides information on
prevalence, secondhand smoke, effective strategies and future directions
..more
View/Download
PDF 535KB
Pregnant?
Don't Smoke: Learn Why and How to Quit for Good
Quitting smoking can be hard, but it is one of the best ways a woman can
protect herself and her baby's health. For free help, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW
(1-800-784-8669).
Division of Reproductive Health's Services Management, Research &
Translation
CDC's Division of Reproductive Health promotes improved health
services management through capacity building, training, and
technical assistance for reproductive health care providers ...more
Maternal and Child Health Smoking
Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs (MCH SAMMEC)
An online application to estimate annual smoking-attributable medical
expenditures, deaths, and years of potential life lost for infants in the
United States ...more
Smokefree.gov
A Web site dedicated to help smokers quit.
CDC Smoking and Tobacco Use
CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health provides information on smoking and
tobacco use, with a comprehensive collection of data, data sources,
publications, and products.
The National Partnership
for Smoke-Free Families*
A coalition of diverse organizations that have joined forces to improve the
health of this and future generations by increasing the number of pregnant
smokers who quit smoking.
The Guide to Community
Preventive Services*
The guide provides systematic reviews of the effectiveness of
interventions to reduce tobacco use.
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Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.
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Page last reviewed: 2/19/08
Page last modified: 10/2/07
Content source:
Division of Reproductive Health,
National Center for Chronic
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion |
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