The influence of the smoke habit on maternal chronic gonadotropin (hCG) and placental lactogen (hPL) blood levels during the first trimester of pregnancy

Smoking habit is quite common in our society. It is well-known that this is harmful to adult health. We have worried about the effects of smoking upon fetuses of smoking mothers, suspecting that it could responsible for placental changes at the beginning of pregnancy. The influence of smoking on the maternal hCG and hPL blood levels was investigated, determining these hormones in blood samples during the first trimester of pregnancy. A comparison between smoking and nonsmoking groups showed significantly lower hCG blood levels in the smoking group. There was no difference of hPL values between the smoking and nonsmoking groups.