Smoking during pregnancy in the 1990s.

OBJECTIVES This report presents trends and variations in smoking during pregnancy in the United States. Data are presented for various characteristics including mother's age, race, ethnic origin, place of birth and State of residence, live birth order, and birthweight. METHODS Descriptive tabulations of data reported on the birth certificates are presented. RESULTS The percentage of women who smoked during pregnancy declined every year from 1990 through 1999. In 1999, 12.3 percent of women giving birth reported smoking during pregnancy. For women 15 to 19 years of age, the rate of smoking during pregnancy declined between 1990 and 1994 but has increased since then and teenagers now have the highest rate of all age groups. Maternal smoking rates also declined for all race and ethnic groups in the 1990s, but important differences persist. American Indian, non-Hispanic white, and Hawaiian women had the highest rates of smoking during pregnancy in 1999 while, Chinese and Central and South American women had the lowest smoking rates.