Ch. Schaffer et al., Smoking during pregnancy or low social status - Which is the better predictor for low birth weight?, GEBURTSH FR, 61(10), 2001, pp. 761-765
Background and Purpose: Smoking prevalence during pregnancy usually depends
on social status. Our aim was to evaluate the influence of intrauterine to
bacco exposure and social status on birth weight.
Material and Methods: The investigation is based on data from a prospective
multicenter atopy study (MAS90) carried out in four University hospitals a
nd two municipal hospitals in Western Germany. We included 5395 (71 %) newb
orn babies delivered in 1990 and their mothers. Data was supplied by a ques
tionnaire, taken during the first week after childbirth, and analysed using
both bivariate and multivariate linear regression.
Results: 28.6% of the interviewed women smoked during pregnancy. Newborns,
of women with lower educational status weighed less than those of women wit
h higher educational status (p = 0.06). This difference became statisticall
y significant (p < 0.001) in cases were the mother smoked during pregnancy.
Conclusion: In Western Germany the influence of the educational level of pr
egnant women on their babies' birth weight seems to be smaller than the imp
act of smoking.