To examine the effects of maternal prenatal smokeless tobacco use on infant birth size.
A retrospective medical record review of 502 randomly selected deliveries.
Singleton deliveries to Alaska Native women residing in a defined geographical region in western Alaska, 1997-2005.
A regional medical center's electronic records were used to identify singleton deliveries. Data on maternal tobacco exposure and pregnancy outcomes were abstracted from medical records. Logistic models were used to estimate adjusted mean birthweight, length and head circumference for deliveries to women who used no tobacco (n=121), used smokeless tobacco (n=237) or smoked cigarettes (n=59). Differences in mean birthweight, length and head circumference, 95% confidence intervals and p-values were calculated using non-users as the reference group.
Infant birthweight, crown-heel length and head circumference.
After adjustment for gestational age and other potential confounders, the mean birthweight of infants of smokeless tobacco users was reduced by 78 g compared with that of infants of non-users (p=0.18) and by 331 g in infants of smokers (p