• BJOG · Dec 2009

    Low birthweight and preterm birth rates 1 year before and after the Irish workplace smoking ban.

    • Z Kabir, V Clarke, R Conroy, E McNamee, S Daly, and L Clancy.
    • Tobacco Free Research Institute (RIFTFS), Dublin, Ireland. zkabir@tri.ie
    • BJOG. 2009 Dec 1; 116 (13): 1782-7.

    ObjectiveIt is well-established that maternal smoking has adverse birth outcomes (low birthweight, LBW, and preterm births). The comprehensive Irish workplace smoking ban was successfully introduced in March 2004. We examined LBW and preterm birth rates 1 year before and after the workplace smoking ban in Dublin.DesignA cross-sectional observational study analysing routinely collected data using the Euroking K2 maternity system.SettingCoombe University Maternal Hospital.PopulationOnly singleton live births were included for analyses (7593 and 7648, in 2003 and 2005, respectively).MethodsDetailed gestational and clinical characteristics were collected and analysed using multivariable logistic regression analyses and subgroup analyses.Main Outcome MeasuresMaternal smoking rates, mean birthweights, and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of LBW and preterm births in 2005 versus 2003.ResultsThere was a 25% decreased risk of preterm births (OR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.59-0.96), a 43% increased risk of LBW (OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.10-1.85), and a 12% fall in maternal smoking rates (from 23.4 to 20.6%) in 2005 relative to 2003. Such patterns were significantly maintained when specific subgroups were also analysed. Mean birthweights decreased in 2005, but were not significant (P=0.99). There was a marginal increase in smoking cessation before pregnancy in 2005 (P=0.047).ConclusionsSignificant declines in preterm births and in maternal smoking rates after the smoking ban are welcome signs. However, the increased LBW birth risks might reflect a secular trend, as observed in many industrialised nations, and merits further investigations.

      Pubmed     Free full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…

What will the 'Medical Journal of You' look like?

Start your free 21 day trial now.

We guarantee your privacy. Your email address will not be shared.