MORE than one in five infant deaths in the first year of life can be linked to maternal smoking during pregnancy, according to new research.
Experts at Glasgow University studied births in Scotland from 1997 to 2009 against child health records up to 2012.
Smoking during pregnancy is a known risk factor for childhood hospitalisations, low birth weight, and an increased likelihood of cot death and potentially deadly conditions such as meningitis.
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From the Scottish data, the researchers were able to estimate that 7 per cent of deaths in the first month of life, and 22% in the first year, are linked to maternal smoking during pregnancy.
They also found that 28% of babies born small for gestational age, and 9% of those born prematurely - before 37 weeks - were the result of expectant mothers’ smoking.
For children under five, the study found that 12% of hospital admissions for bacterial meningitis, 10% for bronchiolitis, 7% for asthma were attributable to maternal smoking, as were 7% of admissions for ‘acute respiratory’ illness among infants under one.
Professor David Tappin, Professor of Clinical Trials for Children at Glasgow University, said: “Our research provides further evidence of the harmful effects of maternal smoking in pregnancy.
“This study provides evidence that could be used to estimate the current cost of maternal smoking, and to assess the cost-effectiveness of current smoking cessation strategies for pregnant women.”
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For babies whose mothers had smoked during pregnancy, the odds of neonatal mortality in the first month after birth were a third higher than those whose mothers were non-smokers.
The odds of infant mortality between one month and one year-old were also more than two times higher among babies whose mothers were current smokers.
The researchers concluded that more than 20% of post-neonatal deaths, many of which would be defined as cot deaths, may be related to smoking in pregnancy.
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This result is consistent with the findings of a study of over three million births in the US.
Professor Tappin added: “We know that 25% of current smokers at maternity booking do not admit to their smoking habit.
"Therefore the figures we have calculated may be an underestimate of the real effects of maternal smoking on outcomes.”
The study is published in BMJ Open.
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