Mom inhaled polluted air, light weight

A group of French and German researchers have confirmed that women who inhale polluted air during pregnancy are at high risk for low birth weight babies.

Scientists from the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (France) and the Neuherberg Environmental Research Center (Germany) used monitoring data for 10 years at 1,016 women and children with five Born from 1998 to 1999 in Munich.

They measured the level of pollution that every woman had been exposed to during pregnancy in her area of ​​residence and was particularly interested in tiny particles of dust dispersed in the air with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (1 micrometers = 1 millionth of a millimeter) are capable of penetrating deep into the respiratory apparatus, also known as PM2.5. PM2.5 is mainly derived from fuel combustion (emissions from vehicles, energy production, industrial plants .).

At the same time, volunteer women answered a questionnaire about daily life habits so that researchers could evaluate other factors affecting the weight of newborn babies. such as tobacco poisoning, maternal weight before pregnancy, education, pregnancy time and gender of the child.

As a result, the more women exposed to tiny dust particles in pregnancy are at greater risk of having a baby weighing less than 3kg.

The researchers explained that some chemicals are transported by dust particles that enter the alveoli of the lungs and move from blood to each other and parts that regulate fetal growth.

VN