The social epidemiology of smoking during pregnancy among Mexican women.
The association between maternal tobacco smoke exposure and hazards to reproduction has been investigated since the turn of the century. Numerous studies have demonstrated an increased risk to the developing fetus as a result of maternal smoking. This risk continues to manifest itself postnatally into childhood. The present study examined both risk factors for and consequences of smoking behavior among a sample of 50 pregnant women consecutively admitted to the obstetrics ward of the Tijuana General Hospital, Tijuana, Mexico. A questionnaire completed postpartum examined social, cultural, and economic variables for the mother, and physical variables of the newborn. Twenty-one subjects were smokers and 29 were nonsmokers. The number of previous pregnancies per subject was significantly higher in the group of smoking mothers. Overall, 86.2% of the nonsmoking mothers had three or fewer pregnancies versus 52.4% of the smoking mothers (p less than or equal to 0.005). It was also noted that the smoking subjects tended to be light smokers (90% reported smoking ten or fewer cigarettes a day, with an average of 4.27 years of smoking history). No difference in knowledge of the harmful effects of smoking during pregnancy was observed between the two groups; however, the proportion of subjects whose mothers and siblings also smoked was significantly higher (p less than or equal to 0.005 and p less than or equal to 0.01, respectively) in the smoking groups. The results are discussed in terms of antismoking prevention and health promotion programs for the developing world.
Molgaard
C A
CA
Laniado-Laborin
R
R
Elder
J P
JP
De Moor
C
C
D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008800:Mexico; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000187:drug effects*; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*