Using tobacco, nicotine, or cannabis (TNC) before, during, or after pregnancy can harm mothers and babies. It increases pregnancy complications risk and can affect children’s long-term health and development. In Indigenous communities, these risks are exacerbated by historical and systemic disadvantage, cultural disconnection, and limited access to culturally appropriate health information. While the effects of smoking in pregnancy are well known, little is understood about how prenatal TNC exposure affects children over time.
Research Outputs
Grant Support
- QACRF led by WBHHS: Indigenous women’s maternal tobacco and nicotine exposure: Patterns and validation of exposure, genotype and physiologic impacts, and barriers/facilitators to cessation (2025-2027).
- ARC Discovery Indigenous: Understanding nicotine metabolism during pregnancy in First Nations peoples (2025-2027).
