Passive smoking linked to increased miscarriage, stillbirth, and ectopic pregnancy risk

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/bmj-psl022414.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 26-Feb-2014
Contact: Stephanie Burns
BMJ-British Medical Journal

Passive smoking linked to increased miscarriage, stillbirth, and ectopic pregnancy risk

Risk is cumulative and heightened in parallel with length of exposure

Passive smoking is linked to a significantly increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and ectopic pregnancy, finds a large observational study, published online in Tobacco Control.

The risk appears to be cumulative, with risk heightened in parallel with the length of time exposed to second hand smoke, the findings indicate.

It is well known that smoking during pregnancy significantly increases the risks of miscarriage and birth complications. What is less clear is whether passive smoking exerts similar effects, and if there are particularly critical periods of exposure to second hand smoke.

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