[What diagnostic tools can be used to assess antenatal exposure to smoking? Pediatric experience]

Abstract

In France, one out of four infants is born to a smoking mother. The short-, mid-, and long-term effects of antenatal exposure to smoking are only partially known. En Europe, it is generally accepted that most smoking mothers are aware of their smoking habit. Nevertheless, certain mothers deny their smoking or minimize the number of cigarettes smoked. The impact of anti-smoking campaigns on the frequency of maternal smoking and its recognition are unknown. The question is determine whether an objective marker of smoking in the neonatal period would be useful for individual care or epidemiological research. Cotinine and CO are the most widely used neonatalagy.