Many U.S. Women Smoke During Pregnancy

Almost 22 percent of pregnant U.S. women smoke cigarettes and more than 10 percent are nicotine dependent, a study found.

The results, published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, also found that approximately 30 percent of pregnant women who use cigarettes have a mental disorder, with personality disorders, major depressive disorder and specific phobia among the most common psychological ailments.

Mental disorders were even more common among pregnant women with nicotine dependence, affecting more than 57 percent, according to the researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is the single most preventable cause of illness and mortality among mothers and infants, yet cigarette use continues among pregnant women in the United States, Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse said in a statement.