Environmental Pollution Harms Baby’s Development in the Womb

The U.S. researchers have warned that environmental pollution caused by exhaust fumes from transport can affect the fetus in the womb.

The experts have conducted a study demonstrating that the more a woman is exposed to exhaust fumes during the initial and the later stages of pregnancy, the greater the future deviation in child development might be. The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

During the study, the researchers have examined the health of 336,000 babies born in New Jersey between 1999 and 2003. Ethnicity, marital status, education, and the mothers’ addiction to smoking were taken into account. Also, the experts studied the daily information about the environment in New Jersey received during this period.

Taking into account all the factors, it turned out that the proximity of the road was a strong factor in the development of the embryo. The children, whose mothers lived near the roads with heavy traffic, were often born with low birth weight, which led to the problems of child health in the future. According to the experts, the air, that a woman breathes during pregnancy, plays an important role in the development of the fetus and the child in the future.