[Smoking and pregnancy complications]

L Marpeau1

  • 1Service de Gynécologie-Obstétrique, CHU de Rouen, 1, rue Germont, 76031 Rouen Cedex.

Because of changing trends in feminine behavior concerning smoking and pregnancy, we must seriously modify our objectives of prevention. The deleterious risks attributable to smoking in pregnant woman are well known. Abruptio placentae is one of the most devastating. It is also known that the risk falls rapidly with abstinence from smoking. So why so much silence on the topic? Why so little interest in motivating our patients to stop smoking while other efforts in gynecology-obstetrics have met with success? The objective could be to imitate our Swedish colleagues. In 1983, 31% of Swedish women smoked daily in the beginning of pregnancy, in 1997 not more than 16%.

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