Maternal smoking during pregnancy and newborn neurobehavior: effects at 10 to 27 days.
OBJECTIVE
To examine effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on newborn neurobehavior at 10 to 27 days.


METHODS
Participants were 56 healthy infants (28 smoking-exposed, 28 unexposed) matched on maternal social class, age, and alcohol use. Maternal smoking during pregnancy was determined by maternal interview and maternal saliva cotinine. Postnatal smoke exposure was quantified by infant saliva cotinine. Infant neurobehavior was assessed through the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale.


RESULTS
Smoking-exposed infants showed greater need for handling and worse self-regulation (P < .05) and trended toward greater excitability and arousal (P < .10) relative to matched, unexposed infants (all moderate effect sizes). In contrast to prior studies of days 0 to 5, no effects of smoking-exposure on signs of stress/abstinence or muscle tone emerged. In stratified, adjusted analyses, only effects on need for handling remained significant (P < .05, large effect size).


CONCLUSIONS
Effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy at 10 to 27 days are subtle and consistent with increased need for external intervention and poorer self-regulation. Along with parenting deficits, these effects may represent early precursors for long-term adverse outcomes from maternal smoking during pregnancy. That signs of abstinence shown in prior studies of 0- to 5-day-old newborns did not emerge in older newborns provides further evidence for the possibility of a withdrawal process in exposed infants.
Stroud
Laura R
LR
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA. Laura_Stroud@brown.edu
Paster
Rachel L
RL
Papandonatos
George D
GD
Niaura
Raymond
R
Salisbury
Amy L
AL
Battle
Cynthia
C
Lagasse
Linda L
LL
Lester
Barry
B
D000328:Adult; D003367:Cotinine / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange / Q000187:drug effects; D009357:Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
D003367:Cotinine