Smoking during Pregnancy Doubles Risk for Sudden Unexplained Infant Death

Source: Anderson TM, Lavista Ferres JM, Ren SY, et al. Maternal Smoking Before and During Pregnancy and the Risk of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death. Pediatrics. 2019; 143(4):e20183325

A study recently published by Tatiana M. Anderson, Ph.D., from the Center for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, and her colleagues, found that children of mothers who smoked even only one cigarette daily during pregnancy had more than twice the risk for sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), compared to those whose mothers did not smoke. Each extra cigarette increased the mentioned risk and reducing or stopping smoking decreased it.