Smoking During Pregnancy: Association with Childhood Temperament, Behavior, and Academic Performance

Objective This study investigated the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and ratings of offspring’s temperament, behavior, and academic performance at various developmental periods in childhood. Methods Multivariate analyses of a birth cohort examined the outcomes for children on measures of temperament, behavior, and academic performance in infancy (6 months), at age 5, and at age 12. Results When controlling for maternal psychiatric hospitalization, psychological distress during pregnancy, hospitalization for accidents, socioeconomic status, age, and symptoms of upper respiratory infection and nausea, a range of associations between maternal smoking and child outcomes were observed at different ages studied. Conclusion Despite widespread warning regarding smoking cessation during pregnancy, the literature base on the longer-term effects beyond the neonatal and infant period is less available. This is one of the first studies to investigate the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and child outcomes at several stages of development. The results provide evidence for the lasting effects of smoking during pregnancy on the development of the child.