Born Smokers

Worldwide there is research being conducted on the impact of poor air quality on different demographic profiles. It has been established that constant exposure to air pollutants harms everyone and is not limited to respiratory disorders only. Studies are measuring different health parameters. Newer findings are emerging which bring to light certain phenomena which seemed unrelated in the beginning but are now being recognized as additional damage. 

Growing evidence links mothers’ exposure to air pollution during pregnancy with an increased risk of their infants being born too small or too early. A recent research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy in September 2023 said that women exposed to air pollution give birth to smaller babies as compared to the babies born to women living in greener areas. The study was based on data from the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE) study and presented by Mr Robin Mzati Sinsamala, a researcher in the Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Bergen (UiB), Norway. It included 4286 children and their mothers living in five European countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Estonia). The study found that even though the average levels of air pollution were with the European Union standards in the areas studied, higher levels air pollution were linked with lower birthweights, with PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂ and BC associated with average reductions in birth weight of 56g, 46g, 48g and 48g, respectively. When researchers took greenness into account, the effect of air pollution on birthweight was reduced. Women who lived in greener areas had babies with slightly higher birth weight (27g heavier on average) than mothers living in less green areas. 

Air pollution is linked with an increased risk of low birth weight and preterm birth. Babies born too small or too early are more susceptible to health problems such as lower-respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, brain damage and inflammation, blood disorders, and jaundice. Low birth weight and preterm birth are leading risk factors for death in the first month of life, contributing to an estimated 1.8 million deaths worldwide.

The smaller the baby or the earlier they are born, the higher the risk of complications. If these babies survive infancy, they remain at a higher risk not only for infectious diseases throughout early childhood but also for major chronic diseases throughout life. It is estimated that, in 2019, 476,000 infants died in their first month of life from health effects associated with air pollution exposure.

As per Bhavreen Kandhari, an Indian activist, “A newborn baby is effectively a smoker in Delhi. The damage begins right from the moment when a woman conceives.” The cards are already stacked against good health and long life even before birth.