No ifs ands or buts an essay on the maternal smoking effect.

In a study of more than 18000 normal term infants the % of low birth weight infants of short length infants and of infants with small head circumferences was markedly higher for mothers who smoked than for mothers who did not smoke. Furthermore the % of small infants increased as maternal smoking increased. The smoking effect persisted into the 3rd and 4th year of the childs life for low weight and into the 7 year for short length and for small head circumference. In examining the smoking habits of mothers with small normal term infants it was found that infants of low weight of short length and with small head circumferences had an excess of smoking mothers and an even greater excess of mothers who smoked heavily. Prematurity is also associated with maternal smoking. When the frequency of premature births for smokers and for nonsmokers was compared separately for whites Puerto Ricans and blacks and within each group by educational level the relationship between prematurity and smoking held for each group and for each educational level. The mechanism by which smoking reduces infant size is unknown but we do know that it is a nutritional variable and that it is probably the single largest cause of prematurity and small normal term infants. Most importantly we know how to prevent it. Bar graphs depict 1) the % of low birth weight infants by maternal smoking habits for white normal term infants and 2) the % of premature infants by level of maternal education for whites Puerto Ricans and blacks. Line graphs show the % of smoking mothers with short length children with low weight infants and with small head circumference children by age of child for blacks and for whites. Tables present 1) the % of short length low weight small head circumference infants by maternal smoking habits and by age of child and 2) the proportion of short length low weight and small head circumference children grouped by age by maternal smoking habits to the total sample.