from Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Smoking while pregnant increases the risk
of preterm birth by twenty-five percent
and contributes to all three of the leading
causes of infant death. Dr. Jim Greenberg
of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital mentions
those statistics as part of a study showing
a significant gap between the percentage
of women who reported smoking during
pregnancy and the number of women who
tested positive for nicotine exposure—
eight and one-half percent who admitted
smoking and sixteen and one-half percent
showing high levels of nicotine exposure.
Further, an additional seven percent of
pregnant women tested positive for
secondhand smoke. Dr. Greenberg says
the gap shows just how many women
struggle to quit smoking when they are
pregnant and learning the true size of the
battle we’re fighting is an important first
step.