NIDA Notes Articles: Pregnant Women

Vouchers Improve Mothers’ Smoking Abstinence and Newborns’ Weight

April 2012

Pregnant women who received financial incentives to refrain from smoking during late pregnancy were more successful at remaining abstinent and less likely to have babies with low birth weight, according to data from three trials.

Gene Influences Impact of Maternal Smoking on Children's Behavioral Problems

July 2011
Describes research showing that the combination of prenatal smoking exposure and specific genes increases children’s and adolescent’s risk for behavior problems.

Prenatal Nicotine Exposure May Damage Receptors That Influence Auditory Processing

April 2009
Reports on a series of animal experiments indicating that nicotine exposure during prenatal fetal development damages a set of receptors in the brain's auditory processing center.

Behavioral Problems Related to Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy Manifest Early in Childhood

June 2008
Describes research providing evidence that maternal smoking during pregnancy contributes to behavioral conduct disorders among toddlers, school-age children, and teens.