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Breast-feeding and environmental tobacco smoke exposure

A B Becker1, J Manfreda, A C Ferguson

  • 1Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. becker@cc.umanitoba.ca

Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
|July 13, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Maternal smoking significantly increases infant cotinine levels, especially in breastfed babies. This highlights risks from environmental tobacco smoke exposure for infant health and potential addiction.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Environmental Health
  • Toxicology

Background:

  • Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure poses risks to infants and children.
  • Infants with a family history of asthma and allergies were studied.
  • Urinary cotinine serves as a biomarker for ETS exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if ingested nicotine and cotinine in breast milk increase urinary cotinine levels in breastfed infants.
  • To quantify the impact of maternal smoking and breastfeeding on infant cotinine exposure.

Main Methods:

  • Urinary cotinine levels were measured in 507 newborns.
  • Cotinine levels were also measured in the breast milk of mothers who smoked.
  • Infants were categorized based on maternal smoking status and breastfeeding practices.

Main Results:

  • Infants born to mothers who smoked had significantly higher urinary cotinine levels within the first two weeks of life.
  • Breastfed infants of smoking mothers exhibited higher cotinine levels compared to non-breastfed infants.
  • Urinary cotinine levels were five times higher in breastfed infants of smoking mothers versus non-breastfed infants of smoking mothers.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal smoking cessation is strongly recommended to protect infants from ETS.
  • Parents must be informed about the respiratory and systemic risks of ETS exposure.
  • Early exposure to tobacco smoke components may increase the risk of future nicotine addiction.
Abstract

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