Antenatal exposure to second hand smoke of non-smoking mothers and growth rate of their infants.

Objectives: There is limited evidence on the effect of exposure to second hand smoke (SHS) in non-smoking pregnant mothers and infant health. We assessed the effects of maternal antenatal exposure to SHS on infant growth rate, and secondarily, on birth weight, birth length and head circumference at birth.

Methods: In this prospective cohort, 305 mother-infant pairs were studied. Mothers filled out questionnaires about exposure to SHS in pregnancy at the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Infant anthropometry was performed at birth, day 7, and months 1, 2, 4, and 6, postnatally. Linear mixed modeling and linear regression were used to calculate growth rates over the first 6 months. The association between SHS-exposure with growth rate and birth sizes was assessed using multivariate linear regression adjusted for confounders, with SHS as both number of cigarettes and as groups (no exposure, SHS < 23 cigarettes, SHS ≥ 23 cigarettes).

Results: Seventy-three mothers were not exposed and 232 were exposed. SHS exposure (per cigarette) was not related to gain in weight, length, head circumference, and weight for length. However, infants born to mothers exposed to ≥ 23 cigarettes/d had lower head circumference gain (-0.32 mm/m, 95% CI -0.60, -0.03) than those born to non-exposed mothers. SHS exposure (per cigarette) was not related to birth weight, length, and head circumference, but exposure to ≥ 23 cigarettes was related to lower head circumference at birth (-11.09 mm, -20.03, -2.16).

Conclusions: Heavy antenatal exposure to SHS in non-smoking mothers results in reduced neonatal head circumference at birth and head circumference gain over the first 6 months of life. Our findings show no clear relations between exposure to SHS during pregnancy and other markers of neonatal growth and birth size.