Maternal smoking and birth defects: validity of birth certificate data for effect estimation

M A Honein1, L J Paulozzi, M L Watkins

  • 1National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mailstop F-45, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.

Summary

Birth certificate data can help study links between maternal smoking and birth defects like cleft lip and clubfoot. These findings support using birth certificates for exploratory research on congenital anomalies.

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