Maternal cigarette-smoking during pregnancy disrupts rhythms in fetal heart rate
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy on the developing infant's autonomic regulation before the possible effects of parturition and neonatal withdrawal could alter outcome measures. METHODS: Heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed for 10 min during late gestation for 21 cigarette-exposed (CE) and 22 nonexposed (NE) fetuses. RESULTS: HRV was significantly lower in fetuses whose mothers smoked cigarettes during pregnancy. Spectrum analysis of that variability showed temporally organized rhythms at a frequency similar to rhythms previously found in fetal cyclic motility (approximately .3 cycles per min). Lower powered rhythms--associated with poorer development--at the first, second, and dominant rhythms, as well as lower overall power of the power spectrum, were found for CE fetuses. Pearson correlations showed significant negative correlations between the amount of maternal cigarette smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy and measures of fetal HRV and power of spectral peaks. CONCLUSIONS: Results show that CE fetuses have lower HRV and disrupted temporal organization of autonomic regulation before effects of parturition, postnatal adaptation, and possible nicotine withdrawal contributes to differences in infant neurobehavioral function.
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Fetuses of smokers show more maladaptive responses to the non-stress test, lower heart rate variability, more mouth and self-touch movements, and poorer recognition of maternal voice than fetuses of nonsmokers.
“found greater rates of maladaptive response to the non-stress test (a clinical index of fetal well-being)(96), including reduced heart rate variability, increased mouth and self-touch movements, and impaired recognition of maternal voice in fetuses of smokers compared with those of nonsmokers.”
From Developmental toxicity of nicotine: A transdisciplinary synthesis and implications for emerging tobacco products (2017) · cites this paper as [98]
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References 51 · Cited by 53
Research works printed but not linked: 6
- Marsal, K. (1982). Fetal activity in late pregnancy. In A. Kurjek (Ed.), Progress in Medicine and Ultrasound (Vol. 3, pp. 65-85). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Excerpta.
- Porter, F. L. (2001). Vagal tone. In L. Singer & P. Zeskind (Eds.), Biobehavioral assessment of the infant (pp. 109-124). New York: Guilford Publications.
- Robertson, S. S., & Dierker, L. J. (1986). The develop- ment of cyclic motility in fetuses of diabetic moth- ers. Developmental Psychobiology, 19(3), 223-234.
- Stephens, L., Zeskind, P. S., O'Grady, C., & Tremblay, N. (April 2002). Effects of maternal and environmental cigarette-exposure during pregnancy on rhythms in neonatal heart rate variability. Paper presented at the International Conference on Infant Studies, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Zeskind, P. S., & Lester, B. M. (2001). The diagnostic utility of the assessment of infant cry sounds. In P. S. Zeskind & L. Singer (Eds.), Biobehavioral assessment of the newborn and young infant New York: Guilford.
- Zeskind, P. S., & Marshall, T. R. (1991). Temporal orga- nization in neonatal arousal: systems, oscillations, and development. In M. Weiss & P. Zelazo (Eds.), Newborn attention: Biological constraints and influ- ence of experience (pp. 22-62). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
- Authors
- Zeskind, P. S., & Gingras, J. L.
- Affiliations
- Carolinas Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Zeskind, Philip Sanford
- Venue
- Journal of Pediatric Psychology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2005-05-19
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5-14
- ISSN
- 0146-8693 (ISSN-L)
- 1465-735X
- OpenAlex
- W2097134928
- Cited by
- 53
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Pediatric Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r01da005949-04)
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01: DA05949)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroscience of respiration and sleep
- Keywords
- smoking during pregnancy, fetal heart rate variability, power spectrum analysis, fetal development
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Fetal Diseases, Heart Rate, Fetal, Humans, Maternal Age, Maternal Behavior, Mothers, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Smoking
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