TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF CIGARETTE SMOKING ON FIRST TRIMESTER EMBRYONIC GROWTH RATE.....a prospective observational study of pregnant women...........

Objectives (obiettivi ):  to assess the impact of cigarette smoking on first trimester embryonic growth rate, a prospective observational STUDY of pregnant women with a smoking history (YES or NO ) between 2006 and 2012. During the initial visit, each woman underwent a transvaginal ultrasound ( TVS ) to assess the viability of the pregnancy. The gestation at the initial scan was based on menstrual dates. The women included in the  study,had more than one TVS to make comparison in CRL( crown-rump length) between 2 ore more scans with a CRL of > 5.6mm,  ;when gestational age by menstrual dates was more than 14days than that on TVS, the ultrasound gestational age has been used. The results show that the effect of smoking over the " growth rate of CRL( crown-rump length ) was not  significant with a p-value of 0.08 in the multi variate linear mixed model. In conclusion: " the association between smoking history and embryonic growth rate in the first trimester of pregnancy is probably " weak ". It seams that the measurable effects of SMOKING on the embryo, begin, however,beyond that of the first trimester.