Pollution may affect foetus growth

by Deborah Condon Copyright © 2009
Developing foetuses may have their normal growth curbed if their mothers are exposed to air pollution, particularly traffic pollution, during early and late pregnancy, the results of a new study indicate.Researchers looked at almost 336,000 singleton births that took place in New Jersey in the US between 1999 and 2003. They used information from birth certificates and hospital records, which included details such as the mother’s marital status, education, tobacco use during pregnancy and when prenatal care was started.Daily readings of air pollution from monitoring points around New Jersey were also retrieved from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Data from the monitoring point within 10 km (6 miles) of the mothers’ homes were used to calculate levels of exposure to average air pollution during each of the three trimesters of the pregnancy, to estimate the associated risk of foetal growth restrictionThe researchers also looked at whether mothers with certain complications of pregnancy were more likely to have a restricted growth baby following increases in air pollution late in pregnancy, compared to mothers without these complications.
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