Parental Smoking Habits and Infant Birth Weight

Abstract

The study was conducted from May 1991 to April 1992 to determine the factors which affect low infant birth weight. The sample was drawn from pregnant women who delivered live single infants. Weight and gender of the newborn were recorded as well as the parental smoking habit. The study found that there were significant associations between low birth weight infants and maternal smoking habit (RR = 2.9; p > 0.05), father's smoking habit (RR = 1.5; p > 0.05), and length of gestation (RR = 3.2; p > 0.05). The variables for which no association with low birth weight infants was observed in this study were coffee intake, gender of infant, and the order of birth.