Exposure of pregnant women to SHS is pervasive. In
2006, a report from the U.S. Surgeon General reported
there is no safe level of SHS exposure; and
in fact, SHS exposure causes premature death in infants
and adults (U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, 2006b). Due to the potential signi¢-
cant health implications, the current study examines
the relationship between prenatal SHS exposure,
PTB, and immediate neonatal outcomes using measurements
of maternal hair nicotine.The speci¢c aim
of the study was to examine the relationship between
maternal hair nicotine concentrations and four newborn
outcomes: gestational age at birth, birth
weight, birth length, and immediate newborn complications.
We hypothesized that (a) nonsmoking
women with prenatal exposure to SHS will have the
same incidence of PTB compared to nonsmoking,
nonexposed pregnant women and (b) infants of
nonsmoking women exposed to prenatal SHS exposure
will have similar birth weights, birth lengths, and
the same incidence of respiratory distress syndrome
(RDS) and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admission
within the ¢rst 24 hours of life compared to
infants of nonsmoking, nonexposed women.