Study: Smoking Ban Reduced Maternal Smoking & Preterm Birth Risk

According to an article published in Jounral of Women's Health, a citywide ban on public smoking in Pueblo, Colorado led to significant decreases in maternal smoking and preterm births, providing the first evidence in the U.S. that such interventions can impact maternal and fetal health.

The article, “A Citywide Smoking Ban Reduced Maternal Smoking and Risk for Preterm, Not Low Birth Weight, Births: A Colorado Natural Experiment,” is available free on the Journal of Women’s Health website.

According to the authors, prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke–whether the mother is a smoker or exposure is from environmental sources—is associated with premature births and low birth weight. The results of a “natural experiment” that compared outcomes in two cities, one with a smoking ban and one without a ban, showed reductions in both maternal smoking and premature births in the city with a smoking ban.

The article concluded that a population-level intervention using a smoking ban improved maternal and fetal outcomes.

Click here for the full article.