Can Cigarettes and Coffee Harm a Fetus?

QUESTION: It seems as if everyone is now down on cigarette smokers. It's the
in thing. I am now pregnant, and just received a lecture about the damage to
my baby from cigarettes and coffee from a girl friend. Is she just spouting
off the party line, or is there real evidence that I can harm my baby? Please
help.
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ANSWER: You probably received an earful, but your girl friend was trying to
help, and was not merely telling a story but telling you the "straight dope".
There are many articles in the medical literature that speak to the effects on
fetal growth from cigarette smoking, and more recently an article in the
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology which reported on the effects of
caffeine and the combined effects of caffeine and smoking upon fetal growth.
913 women completed questionnaires that revealed their use of caffeine, based
upon intake of coffee, cola and chocolate, and were divided into two groups;
those who consumed less than 300 mg per day, and those who were over. The
smokers were divided into three groups; nonsmokers, 14 cigarettes a day or
less, and those who smoke 15 cigarettes or more a day. The babies were
evaluated by birth weight, measurement of head circumference, length of the
newborn, as well as placental weight and ratio. This provided a great deal of
data for evaluation, and all the results demonstrate that when mothers smoked,
babies suffered. The birth weights were lowered in all four of the smoking
mothers' groups, and cigarette smoking caused smaller head circumferences and
body length. Smoking mothers who also consume more than 300 mgm of caffeine
put their babies at even higher risk for impaired development. We are really
not on your case when we strongly advise no smoking and low caffeine intake,
but are trying to make a case for a healthy head start for your newborn.