Abstract

Background: Adverse effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) during pregnancy are associated with small-for-gestational age babies, increased perinatal mortality and morbidity, and early preterm delivery.
Objective: (1) To assess prevalence of passive smoking during pregnancy. (2) To assess the effects of exposure to ETS on outcome in pregnancy. Material and Methods: It is a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted at a district hospital from June 2014 to November 2014. Three hundred non-smoking women (20–35 years) delivering a singleton live baby were studied. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. SPSS version 16.0 was used for the analysis of data. Chi-square was used for categorical variable and unpaired student’s t-test for continuous variable for comparison.
Results: Among the 300 women studied, 26% (78) were exposed to ETS. Those exposed to ETS, there was a significantly higher incidence of preterm births (32%) and small-for-gestational age babies (27%) compared to the unexposed. The mean birth weight of babies born to exposed mothers was 282 g less compared to those born to non-exposed mothers. Conclusion: The awareness about the harmful effects of passive smoking is poor. Evaluation of ETS exposure and steps to avoid it during pregnancy should be an important part of antenatal care.