Chris Murphy: “I thank the gentleman. I asked about another issue, too, which is one that is so critically important for children. My…”

“I thank the gentleman. I asked about another issue, too, which is one that is so critically important for children. My colleague from Georgia had mentioned before, during pregnancy, smoking being one of the risk factors. I believe that the sad statistic is that the Pittsburgh region has some of the highest maternal smoking rates during pregnancy in the Nation. My understanding is a lot of complications can come when you have a mother who smokes during pregnancy. Certainly an important part of prenatal care for our children is understanding the importance of helping a mother to stop smoking during that time. I wonder if the gentleman can comment on some of the complications that might come for that mother and that baby not only during labor and delivery but the long-term effects for that child when the mother smokes during pregnancy.”