Every year in the United States more than four million infants are born with low birth weight (LBW) or small-for-gestational age (SGA). Although the US has some of the most advanced medical technologies and equipment available in the world, the country's infant mortality rate remains a critical issue. There are several factors such as: racial and ethnic disparities, late prenatal care after six months of pregnancy, and poverty that may contribute to this increased infant mortality rate, however, one of the most imporant and correctable is smoking during pregnancy.
Smoking during pregnancy has been related to 20% to 30% of low birth weight infant births and 10% of fetal deaths and is considerated the single most important and modifiable risk factor for improving these excessively high LBWs and infant death rates. Not only does smoking harm the health of the pregnant women, but cigarette smoking has also been shown to harm the fetus, especially in regards to retarding fetal growth. When a pregnant women smokes, the infant's birth weight will likely be reduced by 5.3 to 11.4 ounces.
Many severe conditions are associated with low birth weight and preterm birth. Conditions range from such things as mental retardation and cerebral palsey, to respiratory syndrome, asthma, deafness, blindness. Studies have shown that pregnant mothers have some knowledge of the maternal risk of smoking while pregnant, but are lacking in their knowledge and understanding about fetal risk. Teaching these mothers about the possibility of their infants being born with cerebral palsy, and other birth defects, and the dangers of being born low birth weight may help motivate them to quit smoking.
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