Open AccessMaternal smoking does not affect fetal size as measured in the mid‐second trimester
Author(s) -
BERGSJØ PER,
BAKKETEIG LEIV S.,
LINDMARK GUNILLA
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
acta obstetricia et gynecologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1600-0412
pISSN - 0001-6349
DOI - 10.1080/00016340600984696
Subject(s) - medicine , pregnancy , obstetrics , fetus , gestation , gestational age , biparietal diameter , population , fetal growth , birth weight , gestational period , gynecology , demography , genetics , environmental health , head circumference , biology , sociology
Background. Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is causally related to birthweight, but we do not know whether fetal growth restriction is a continuous process or, if not, at what stage of pregnancy it affects weight gain. Material and methods. A random sample of para 1 and 2 mothers, drawn from the population of pregnant women in Bergen and Trondheim, Norway, and Uppsala, Sweden, were examined by a detailed questionnaire concerning smoking habits, menstrual history and pregnancy dating, and subjected to morphometric sonography of their fetuses in or around week 17. Of the 547 study participants, 31.9% were smokers. Gestational age was primarily determined by the last menstrual period [LMP], except in those with irregular cycles, and in 30 cases (6.6% of those with regular cycles) in whom the biparietal diameter [BPD]‐determined age deviated >14 days from the LMP‐based date. Results. The analysis did not reveal any statistically significant differences between the fetuses of non‐smokers, light smokers (0–9 cigarettes per day) and heavy (10+ cigarettes per day) smokers, regarding BPD, mean abdominal diameter [MAD] femur length [FL], and a ‘body contour index’: [BPD+FL]÷MAD. Conclusion. Tobacco‐induced fetal growth restriction probably begins after gestational week 17.