E-Cigarettes and Adverse Birth Outcomes

E-cigarette use, or vaping, has been increasing rapidly, especially among U.S. adolescents and young adults. Given marketing that e-cigarettes are less harmful than combustible cigarettes, researchers analyzed Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System data from 2016 through 2018 on 79,176 live births.

Use of e-cigarettes was reported by 2.7% of mothers in the 3 months before pregnancy and 1.1% in the last 3 months of pregnancy. Rates of preterm birth and low-birth-weight infants were not lower with e-cigarette use alone than cigarette use. Daily use of e-cigarettes during pregnancy was associated with more adverse birth outcomes than less-frequent use or nonuse.