Smoking rates among American Indian women giving birth in Minnesota. A call to action

Maternal smoking is associated with a number of adverse effects including neonatal mortality, preterm delivery, low birth weight, decreased lung growth and function, and increased incidence of lower respiratory infections. This study looked at smoking trends among American Indian and white women in Minnesota who gave birth between 1999 and 2003. The authors used data from birth certificates issued by the state to determine the rate of smoking among both groups of women. They broke down the data further to look at and compare smoking rates of American Indian and white women based on where they gave birth (greater Minnesota or the Twin Cities metro area), when they began receiving prenatal care, their level of education, their age, the number of children they already had, and the weight of their baby. They found that 39% of American Indian women in Minnesota who gave birth during that period reported smoking, compared with 11% of white women. In addition, their findings showed that cigarette use among American Indian women in Minnesota who gave birth in 2003, was 36.5%--double the national rate of 18.3% forAmerican Indian women.