Effects of maternal tobacco smoking, sleepin position, and sleep state on arousal in healthy term infants

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether a history of maternal tobacco smoking affected the maturation of arousal responses and whether sleeping position and infant age alters these relations. DESIGN: Healthy term infants (13 born to mothers who did not smoke and 11 to mothers who smoked during pregnancy) were studied using daytime polysomnography on three occasions: (a) two to three weeks after birth, (b) two to three months after birth, and (c) five to six months after birth. Multiple measurements of arousal threshold in response to air jet stimulation were made in both active sleep (AS) and quiet sleep (QS) when infants slept both prone and supine. RESULTS: Maternal smoking significantly elevat..