Rising air pollution: bad air days for pregnant moms, babies

January 28, 2023

Air pollution is hazardous to one’s health. However, expectant mothers must exercise extra caution because air pollution will not only harm her health but also that of her child.

Air quality in Asia is deteriorating over time. According to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report, air pollution from primary pollutants emitted by human activity has increased in the region over the last 50 years. Recent increases in emissions were primarily driven by rising domestic consumption as well as export-related emissions. Increased domestic consumption and emissions related to exports were also among the main causes of recent emissions spikes.

It is concerning that every day, more than 4 billion people in Asia are exposed to and breathe polluted air.

Pregnant women and young children are two vulnerable groups who are severely impacted by these pollutants. As a result, it is estimated that air pollution causes 4 million premature deaths annually in Asia and the Pacific.

According to UNICEF, nearly 17 million babies under the age of one live in areas where air pollution is at least six times higher than international standards, exposing them to toxic air and potentially jeopardizing their brain development.

Expanding economies in Asia, impacting air health

South Asia is home to between three-quarters and a million of these children. According to the State of Global Air 2020 report, South Asia was among the countries with children who were affected by worsening global air quality. According to the report, South Asian countries such as India and Nepal were among the four Asian countries and top ten countries in 2019 with the highest population-weighted average exposure to PM2.5. Meanwhile, UNICEF reported that 4.3 million babies in the East Asia and Pacific region live in areas that exceed six times the limit.

Breathing in particulate air pollution can damage brain tissue and undermine cognitive development in young children, with long lasting effects and setbacks. Pollutants can harm a baby’s developing lungs, according to UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake.

If that is not enough, the blood-brain barrier can be damaged by ultrafine pollution particles, which can then travel to the brain and cause neuro-inflammation.

Some pollutants, like ultrafine magnetite, can enter the body through the gut and olfactory nerve and, because of their magnetic charge, they can cause oxidative stress, which is known to lead to neurodegenerative diseases, the UNICEF reported, adding that other types of pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, can harm areas of the brain that aid in neuron communication.

According to the State of Global Air Initiative, air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of low birth weight and preterm birth, which are the main risk factors for infant mortality between the ages of 0 and 1 month. As a result, babies are more likely to experience health issues like “lower respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, brain damage and inflammation, blood disorders, and jaundice.”

Air pollution endangering baby’s brain development

The impact of pollution on a baby’s brain development is discussed in a more recent study from the University of Colorado Boulder that was published in the journal Environmental Health in 2023. According to the study, toddlers with mothers who experienced higher levels of air pollution during their mid- to late-pregnancy typically perform worse on tests of cognition, motor coordination, and language skills.

The study, which included 161 Latino mother-child pairs, is one of the first to examine the relationship between prenatal pollution exposure and brain development in infancy. The researchers claim that the findings add to a growing data that indicates that exposure to polluted air during crucial developmental phase can have potentially long-lasting effects on children’s health. According to Tanya Alderete, an assistant professor of integrative physiology at CU Boulder, exposure to pollution, especially in the middle to late stages of pregnancy, may have a negative effect on a child’s neurodevelopment.

The researchers employed the US The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Air Quality System, which collects data from ambient monitoring stations across the country to calculate pregnant women’s exposure to pollutants from roadside traffic, industry, wildfire smoke, and other sources. The study also took into account socioeconomic status, the number of times the baby was breastfed per day, whether the infant was born early, late, or on time, the mother’s weight, the baby’s birth weight, and other factors that could influence results.

According to study author Zach Morgan, the timing of the exposure was important, with mid- to late-pregnancy exposures proving particularly harmful to neurodevelopment. He explained that crucial brain circuits that support the sensory, communication, and motor systems form during mid- to late pregnancy.

When the children reached the age of two, they underwent a battery of neurodevelopmental tests designed to assess cognitive, motor, and language abilities. Two-year-olds who were exposed perinatally to higher levels of inhalable particulate matter (PM 10 and PM 2.5) performed noticeably worse on cognitive tests. Research from the past suggests that inhaled pollutants may come into direct contact with the fetus, causing systemic inflammation and oxidative stress that can affect neurodevelopment. More studies are required to fully understand how pollution affects the developing brain.

Ways to healthy air and well-being

The authors of the studies have recommended the following measures to protect mothers, their children, and populations from the harmful effects of air pollution on health:

1. When possible, avoid airborne pollutants, especially during the second and third trimesters

2. Avoiding outdoor exercise on days with high pollution levels

3. Use an indoor air filtration system

4. While cooking, open the windows

5. Keeping away from second-hand smoke

On a larger scale, the UNICEF recommendations for curbing air pollution may be taken into consideration. These include investing in cleaner, renewable energy sources to replace the burning of fossil fuels, offering affordable, easily accessible public transportation, increasing the amount of green space in urban areas, and providing better waste management options to stop the open burning of hazardous chemicals.

Most importantly, good nutrition for mother and baby, as well as breastfeeding, will strengthen children’s resistance to the detrimental consequences of polluted air.

Health Care Asia
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