Association between stillbirth and illicit drug use and smoking during pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE
To compare illicit drug and smoking use in pregnancies with and without stillbirth.


METHODS
The Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network conducted a case-control study from March 2006 to September 2008, covering more than 90% of deliveries to residents of five a priori-defined geographically diverse regions. The study attempted to include all stillbirths and representative liveborn controls. Umbilical cord samples from cases and controls were collected and frozen for subsequent batch analysis. Maternal serum was collected at delivery and batch analyzed for cotinine.


RESULTS
For 663 stillbirth deliveries, 418 (63%) had cord homogenate and 579 (87%) had maternal cotinine assays performed. For 1,932 live birth deliveries, 1,050 (54%) had cord homogenate toxicology and 1,545 (80%) had maternal cotinine assays performed. A positive cord homogenate test for any illicit drug was associated with stillbirth (odds ratio [OR] 1.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16-3.27). The most common individual drug was cannabis (OR 2.34 95% CI 1.13-4.81), although the effect was partially confounded by smoking. Both maternal self-reported smoking history and maternal serum cotinine levels were associated in a dose-response relationship with stillbirth. Positive serum cotinine less than 3 ng/mL and no reported history of smoking (proxy for passive smoke exposure) also were associated with stillbirth (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.24-3.41).


CONCLUSIONS
Cannabis use, smoking, illicit drug use, and apparent exposure to second-hand smoke, separately or in combination, during pregnancy were associated with an increased risk of stillbirth. Because cannabis use may be increasing with increased legalization, the relevance of these findings may increase as well.


METHODS
II.
For a list of other members of the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network, see the Appendix online at http://links.lww.com/AOG/A455. University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah; Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; the Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; Columbia University, New York, New York; the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas; and Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, Rhode Island.
Michael W
MW
Varner
Robert M
RM
Silver
Carol J
CJ
Rowland Hogue
Marian
M
Willinger
Corette B
CB
Parker
Vanessa R
VR
Thorsten
Robert L
RL
Goldenberg
George R
GR
Saade
Donald J
DJ
Dudley
Donald
D
Coustan
Barbara
B
Stoll
Radek
R
Bukowski
Matthew A
MA
Koch
Deborah
D
Conway
Halit
H
Pinar
Uma M
UM
Reddy
D000328:Adult; D002188:Cannabis / Q000009:adverse effects; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003367:Cotinine / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D009294:Narcotics / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D050497:Stillbirth / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
D009294:Narcotics; D003367:Cotinine