London, Feb 7: Scientists may have found the major reason why 1 in every 4 babies born in India (of the 2.6crore births in India annually ) are of low weight (below 2.5kg).
A worldwide study announced on Wednesday has shown that pregnant mothers exposed to air pollution emitted by vehicles are significantly more likely to have smaller babies. The study, the largest of its kind, analysed data from more than three million births in nine nations at 14 sites in the UK, Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia.
Publishing the findings on Wednesday, researchers found that at sites worldwide, the higher the pollution rate, the greater the rate of low birth weight. India's pollution hate has been very high. Low birth weight is associated with serious health consequences, including increased risk of postnatal morbidity and mortality and chronic health problems in later life.
Professor Tanja Pless Mulloli, who led the UK study at Newcastle University said: "As air pollution increases we can see that more babies are smaller at birth which in turn puts them at risk of poor health later in life. These microscopic particles, five times smaller than the width of a human hair, are part of the air we breathe every day. What we have shown definitively is that these levels are already having an effect on pregnant mothers."
In the UK, researchers used records from the city going back over 50 years.
Allowing for socio-economic status and occupation, they were able to correlate the amount of particles in the outdoor air to the birth weight of children.
Professor Pless-Mulloli added: "The particles which are affecting pregnant mothers mainly come from the burning of fossil fuels. In the past the culprit may have been coal fires , now it is primarily vehicle fumes."
"We would like policy makers to use the results of this study to inform decisions on whether the permitted levels of air pollution should be changed," said pofessor Pless-Mulloli . "We would urge countries considering reviewing their air pollution standards to include estimates of the growth of newborns as a measure of air quality standards." Judith Rankin from Newcastle University said: "This should not deter mothers-to-be from taking exercise outdoors as the benefits of keeping active in pregnancy are well known."
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