Effects of betel chewing on pregnancy outcome.

The antenatal records of 400 Papua New Guinean women who had chewed betel throughout pregnancy were examined and the patients' performance in labour and the condition of the baby at birth and in the post-natal period were studied. Each mother was matched for parity and province of birth with a control who had never chewed betel, whose pregnancy and infant were similarly studied. The findings are a significantly higher mean birth-weight for the control group and a lower incidence of neonatal jaundice in the study group.