Impact of passive smoking on uterine, umbilical, and fetal middle cerebral artery blood flows.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of passive maternal smoking on blood flow velocities in arteries of the fetal-placental-maternal circulation.

Materials And Methods: A total of 79 pregnant women in their third trimester, including 33 passive smokers, 23 active smokers, and 23 nonsmoking controls, were enrolled in the study. Fetal biophysical indices were evaluated with B-mode scanning, whereas blood flow waveforms of uterine, umbilical, and fetal middle cerebral (MCA) arteries were analyzed with Doppler ultrasonography.