New research has shown that pregnant women exposed to air pollution give birth to smaller babies. Photo / Getty Images
New research has shown that pregnant women exposed to air pollution give birth to smaller babies. Photo / Getty Images
Pregnant mums exposed to regular air pollution have been proved to give birth to smaller babies, according to new research.
What’s more, expecting mums living in greener places have larger children, reports the New York Post. A study conducted in Northern Europe suggests that living in healthy environments can help to prevent the negative impact of pollution on pregnancy.
“Our results suggest that pregnant women exposed to air pollution, even at relatively low levels, give birth to smaller babies,” Robin Sinsamala revealed, reports South West News Service. Sinsamala is a researcher at Norway’s University of Bergen.
The results were based on data from the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe study, gathered from more than 4000 kids and their mums living in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Estonia.
Scientists measured the “greenness” of the areas where the women resided during their pregnancies by calculating the density of vegetation using satellite pictures, such as forests, farmland and parks.
They honed in on the data of five pollutants – nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone, black carbon and two kinds of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) – and used that information in comparison with the newborn babies’ weights at birth.
“Our results suggest that pregnant women exposed to air pollution, even at relatively low levels, give birth to smaller babies." Photo / Getty
Researchers took into account the usual factors, such as the women’s ages, and considered whether the mums smoked or had any health conditions as part of the study.
The results proved that higher levels of air pollution directly correlated with lower birthrates. PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and BC were linked with average size reductions of 1.97 ounces (55.84 grams), 1.62 ounces (45.92 grams), and 1.69 ounces (47.91 grams) respectively.
While these locations had higher amounts of air pollution, the average levels of air pollution were within European Union standards.
However, when scientists accounted for greenness in the study, the impact of air pollution on birth weight decreased.
Pregnant women who lived in greener places had children who were slightly heavier on average – 0.95 ounces (26.93 grams) – than those living in locations with higher pollution.
They found that higher levels of air pollution were linked with lower birthrates. Photo / Getty Images
Sinsamala went on to say that possibly “green areas tend to have lower traffic or that plants help to clear the air of pollution, or green areas may mean it’s easier for pregnant women to be physically active”.
He added that “the time when babies are growing in the womb is critical for lung development”.
“We know that babies with lower birth weight are susceptible to chest infections, and this can lead to problems like asthma and COPD later on.”
At the end of September, Sinsamala is set to present the results of the study at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy.
Professor Arzu Yorgancioğlu, the European Respiratory Society Advocacy Council Chair, went on to say that the experiment adds to the body of research into air pollution, particularly the negative impact it has on our health and how those effects can be alleviated by making a “greener”, cleaner world.
“Women who are pregnant will want to protect their babies from potential harm. However, as individuals, it can be difficult to reduce our exposure to air pollution or make our neighbourhoods greener,” she said.
The professor encouraged doctors and researchers to put pressure on governments and policymakers to stand against climate change and hone in on decreasing pollution.
