Terrorist attacks had little effect on pregnancy. (Preliminary Results of a New York Study).

NEW York -- Factors associated with exposure to last year's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center--high levels of stress and toxic pollutants--might be expected to pose particular risks for pregnant women and their infants.

But preliminary results from a study of women who were in the immediate area at the time showed little impact, Trudy Berkowitz, Ph.D., said at a conference on the health consequences of terrorism, sponsored by the New York Academy of Medicine.

Pregnancy outcomes were not notably different from a control group of women who were not directly exposed, and levels of stress and mood disorders were similar to what was seen in the general population, said Dr. Berkowitz, professor of community and preventive medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York.

The study involved 173 women who were pregnant and in the World Trade Center (WTC) area at the time of the attack. For the most part, they lived and/or worked in lower Manhattan. Most were in the immediate vicinity on the morning of Sept. 11: nearly 80% within several blocks of the buildings, and 18% less than half a mile away. The remainder were within 1 or 2 miles, in areas that were within sight of the disaster and strongly affected by ash and smoke in the following weeks.

The sample was a "very select population ... older, highly educated, and mostly professional women," Dr. Berkowitz said.

Most were white (73%), older than 30 years (80%), employed (88%), and college graduates (83%). Nearly all (96%) were in legal or common-law marriages.

Among 163 women for whom pregnancy outcome data were available at the time of the presentation, 156 had had singleton births ...