Perry MF, et al. - Via studying a population-based retrospective cohort of live births in Ohio from 2006–2015 with the use of data from birth certificates, researchers examined how maternal smoking and the timing of periconception exposure is associated with congenital birth defects. They identified 1,436,036 live births in the study period. Smoking during pregnancy was reported in 334,156 women (23.3%); 6.0% of the population smoked preconception only, and 17.3% of the population smoked both during the preconception period and through the first trimester. Increased risk of some birth defects was observed in correlation to smoking during the period of fetal organogenesis (during the first trimester of pregnancy). Furthermore, novel data were gained in this study suggesting a risk for fetal malformation such as gastroschisis in correlation to smoking during the few months before conception, even with cessation in the first trimester. Findings thereby emphasize the significance of preconception women’s public health education efforts and warrant further investigation.