Effects of Maternal Smoking on Neonatal Auditory Function

Objectives: Maternal tobacco smoking has many negative effects on fetus. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of smoking during pregnancy on neonatal hearing screening. Smoking has been found positively associated with hearing loss in adults. Materials and Methods: A total of 919 women who were followed in Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of Ataturk Training and Research Hospital during pregnancy and who gave birth between 01 January 2011 - 30 December 2012 in the same clinic were included in the study with their newborn babies. Women with systemic diseases, pregnancy complications, familial hearing loss history and newborns in the neonatal unit were excluded. The included 919 pregnant women were divided into 2 groups; smokers (group 1) and non-smokers (group 2). Of these, age, gravidity, parity, gestational age, birth weight, mode of delivery, gender, newborn hearing screening results were statistically compared. Results: When smokers and non smokers were compared, no statistically significant differences were found in terms of age, parity, gestational age, birth weight, sex, and type of delivery, but the gravida difference was statistically significant. Smoker and non-smoker otoacoustic emission test results between groups had no significant difference. Conclusion: Smoking during pregnancy has harmful effects both on mother and fetus. In this study, the pregnancy was found to have no significant effect on newborn hearing screening. However, as the results are specific for this study, further studies are needed with the assessment of limitations.