Smoking during pregnancy: association with childhood temperament, behavior, and academic performance.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and ratings of offspring's temperament, behavior, and academic performance at various developmental periods in childhood.


METHODS
Multivariate analyses of a birth cohort examined the outcomes for children on measures of temperament, behavior, and academic performance in infancy (6 months), at age 5, and at age 12.


RESULTS
When controlling for maternal psychiatric hospitalization, psychological distress during pregnancy, hospitalization for accidents, socioeconomic status, age, and symptoms of upper respiratory infection and nausea, a range of associations between maternal smoking and child outcomes were observed at different ages studied.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite widespread warning regarding smoking cessation during pregnancy, the literature base on the longer-term effects beyond the neonatal and infant period is less available. This is one of the first studies to investigate the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and child outcomes at several stages of development. The results provide evidence for the lasting effects of smoking during pregnancy on the development of the child.
University of Georgia, USA.
Roy P
RP
Martin
Stefan C
SC
Dombrowski
Cynthia
C
Mullis
Joseph
J
Wisenbaker
Matti O
MO
Huttunen
D000124:Achievement; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament