ABSTRACT
Low birth weight (LBW) constitutes the most important challenge for maternal and child health today. Throughout the world some 21 million LBW babies are born each year, more than 90% of them in developing countries. Many factors probably contribute to this fetal growth retardation but probably a central role is played by the synergistic efforts of maternal malnutrition, anemia, and infection, exacerbated by over-frequent pregnancies. Ranking high in priority must be the prevention of smoking during pregnancy. It has now been established in studies in a number of developed countries that maternal smoking is associated both with a significant degree of fetal growth retardation at term and a 30% higher perinatal mortality. For many years obstetricians have recommended “rest” to mothers whose pregnancies were “at risk”, either because of maternal hypertension, cervical imcompetance, multiple pregnancy, fetal growth retardation, or threatened premature delivery.
