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Smoking during pregnancy is the single most preventable cause of illness and death among mothers and infants. It is associated with increased risks for preterm premature rupture of membranes, abruptio placentae, and placenta previa, and with a modest increase in risk for preterm delivery. Infants born to women who smoke during pregnancy have a lower average birth weight and are more likely to be small for gestational age than are infants born to women who do not smoke.
Smoking during pregnancy carries a heavy financial burden. Health care costs at delivery for problems caused by smoking during pregnancy totaled about $366 million in the United States during 1996 alone. Women who quit smoking before or during pregnancy reduce the risk for several adverse reproductive outcomes.
Prenatal Smoking Cessation
CDC's Prenatal Smoking Cessation program develops and enhances maternal and child health programs’ capacity to reduce the effects of smoking among women of reproductive age and their families. Smoking during pregnancy has been identified as the most important potentially preventable cause of low birthweight in the United States. The Prenatal Smoking Cessation program contributes directly to the Healthy People 2010 goals related to reducing cigarette smoking during pregnancy and to reducing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. The Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP *) is funded to support prenatal smoking cessation programs in states. AMCHP’s members consist of all State Maternal and Child Health (MCH) program directors and their staff.
AMCHP * disseminates prenatal smoking cessation information and resources, promotes the integration of prenatal smoking cessation counseling into routine prenatal care, and facilitates the exchange of ideas and experiences in prenatal smoking cessation among State Maternal and Child Health programs.
CDC provides technical assistance to AMCHP * as the organization conducts needs assessments, regional conferences, annual meetings, publishes a bimonthly newsletter that highlights states’ activities in prenatal smoking cessation, and implements state mentoring visits and focus groups of MCH directors.
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