Maternal smoking and preterm birth: An unresolved health challenge

Abstract

Maternal exposure to tobacco smoke in pregnancy is a key modifiable risk factor for baby death and disability. Smoking is linked to preterm birth (birth before 37 weeks' gestation), stillbirth, and neonatal mortality, as well as to miscarriage, fetal growth restriction, and infant morbidity The worldwide prevalence of maternal smoking in pregnancy is 2%, with Europe having the highest prevalence at 8% Although rates of maternal smoking in pregnancy are decreasing in many high-income countries [2], this decline is slower among women of lower socioeconomic status, contributing to health inequalities In certain low-and middle-income countries, maternal smoking rates are static or rising

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