Prenatal Second-Hand Smoke Exposure Measured with Urine Cotinine May Reduce Gross Motor Development at 18 Months of Age.

Objective: To evaluate the association of second-hand smoke exposure of pregnant mothers using urine cotinine with the neurodevelopment of their children at 18 months of age in the mother-child cohort in Crete (Rhea Study).

Study Design: Selected participants were Greek mothers with singleton pregnancies, had never smoked, and had available urine cotinine measurements in pregnancy, and their children for whom a neurodevelopmental assessment was completed. We performed face-to-face interviews twice during pregnancy and postnatally, and assessed children's neurodevelopment at 18 months of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition.

Antenatal and postnatal maternal mental health as determinants of infant neurodevelopment at 18 months of age in a mother-child cohort (Rhea Study) in Crete, Greece.

Purpose: A growing body of evidence links poor maternal mental health with negative outcomes on early child development. We examined the effect of antenatal and postnatal maternal mental health on infant neurodevelopment at age 18 months in a population-based mother-child cohort (Rhea Study) in Crete, Greece.

Methods: Self-reported measures of maternal depression (EPDS), trait anxiety (STAI-Trait) and personality traits (EPQ-R) were assessed in a sample of women during pregnancy and at 8 weeks postpartum (n = 223).