U.S. study examines maternal smoking during pregnancy prevalence in 2020 births

This observational study analyzed data from mothers who gave birth in the United States in 2020. The exposure of interest was self-reported smoking cigarettes at any time during pregnancy. The primary outcome was the percentage of births to mothers with this reported exposure.

The main result for the percentage of births to mothers who reported smoking during pregnancy was not reported in the provided data. No effect sizes, absolute numbers, p-values, or confidence intervals were available. The direction of any association or comparison was also not reported.

No safety, tolerability, or adverse event data related to the smoking exposure were reported. Key limitations include the reliance on self-reported data for smoking status and the absence of reported comparator data or specific prevalence rates. The study's funding sources and potential conflicts of interest were not reported.

For clinical practice, this report offers a descriptive look at maternal smoking exposure in a recent U.S. birth cohort. However, the lack of reported prevalence figures limits its direct utility. Clinicians should continue to counsel patients against smoking during pregnancy based on the well-established body of evidence linking it to adverse outcomes.