Affiliations 

  • 1 Universiti Putra Malaysia
MyJurnal

Abstract

Passive smoking among pregnant mothers has been associated with numerous maternal and fetal effects. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of passive smoking on the fetal outcome among women who delivered at the Maternity Hospital Kuala Lumpur. This cross sectional study was carried out at the Maternity Hospital Kuala Lumpur in July 2004. Universal sampling of the women who delivered at the hospital was used and data was collected by interview using pre-tested questionnaire and patients’ medical records. Analysis was done by SPSS version 11.5. More than 75% were Malays, between 21 to 35 years, married, received secondary education, housewives and family income between RM 1000 – RM 1999. Seventy-seven per cent of the women were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke and majority were exposed at home and for less than 1 hour a week. There were significant relationships between duration of exposure with exposure at workplace, exposure at home and exposure in the car. Most of the babies delivered were males, term, normal weight and normal. Health education of the adverse effects of smoking to the pregnant women, spouses and family members need to be intensified by the hospital and the Ministry of Health.