Previous work has suggested that maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy is associated with increased risk for spontaneous abortion (Castles, Adams, Melvin, Kelsch, & Boulton, 1999), preterm delivery (Castles, et al., 1999; Kaddar et al., 2009; Shah & Bracken, 2000), respiratory disease (Cook & Strachan, 1999), immune system difficulties such as asthma and allergies (Prescott & Clifton, 2009), and cancer later in life (Doherty, Grabowski, Hoffman, Ng, & Zelikoff, 2009). Findings also suggest that there are a variety of placental complications linked to prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke, including alterations to the development and function of the placenta (Einarson & Riordan, 2009).
