The results of a study on Ligurian women at the third day of puerperium are presented. The data obtained from the analysis of urinary cadmium levels in puerperae are related to their smoking habits and to the newborn weight. We found that women who smoked during pregnancy run the risk of giving birth to small-weight children one-and-a-half times higher than women who didn't smoke; moreover, cadmium levels in the urine of the women who smoked are higher too. The cadmium levels in urine on average are higher in women who gave birth to small-weight children, independently of smoke habits. We didn't find a significant relationship between cadmium levels in urine and newborn weight.