Revista de Medicina Pulmonar

Association of Concomitant Drinking and Smoking during Pregnancy with Placental Abruption, Fetal Growth Restriction and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Hendrik Odendaal

Placental abruption is the partial or complete separation of the placenta before the birth of the baby. This severe complication is seen in 0.4%-1% of pregnancies and is responsible for 10% of all preterm births and 10%-20% of all perinatal deaths [1]. For the USA and Japan the prevalence rate seems to vary around 0.9%,[2,3] but a rate of 4.4% has been reported in India [4]. Placental abruption and placenta praevia are attributed causes of stillbirth in 7.5 to 42% of 142 studies in low to middle-income countries included in a systematic review [5]. In highincome countries, placental abruption and growth restriction carry the highest population-attributable risks of pregnancy disorders for stillbirths (15% and 23% respectively)