KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — A new report shows an increasing number of expectant mothers in Michigan are lighting up while pregnant.
Alicia Guevara Warren with Michigan Kids Count says the report monitored smoking trends from 2008 to 2014.
“One in five births to moms in 2014 were to moms who smoked during pregnancy,” Guevara Warren said. “This was about an 18 percent rate increase from 2008.”
There was a major spike in Kalamazoo County.
“The rate of moms smoking during pregnancy actually increased by 74 percent,” Guevara Warren said.
Overall pregnant smoking rates were higher in northern Michigan and the upper peninsula, where nearly half of mothers smoked while pregnant.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking during pregnancy can increase a child’s risk of sudden infant death. It can also lead to birth defects and babies being born too early.
