By Lara Kimbrell of The SNSPost
A well known taboo during pregnancy is cigarette smoking. Is the next pregnancy taboo simply taking a walk in the city? A new study out of Stockholm shows that a mother’s early exposure to air pollution increases the risk of premature birth more than smoking during pregnancy.
The idea that air pollution is not good for expectant mothers should not be surprising. However the results of the study were surprising to a researcher in the group, David Olsson, PhD student in Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umea University in northern Sweden.
“If we add up the effects of being exposed to high exhaust levels and ozone it has an even greater effect than smoking,” Olsson told the Svenska Dagbladet Daily.
The impact of ozone exposure in pregnant women is an increase in premature birth. Scientists found that early exposure to ozone compromises the development of the placenta leading to premature birth. According to the March of Dimes, the premature birth rate in the United States has risen 36 percent in the last 30 years resulting in over half a million premature babies born each year. The cause of premature birth is thought to be multifaceted, but ozone exposure is a significant risk factor.
Ground-level ozone is a problem that is concentrated in urban areas because it is
produced largely by sunlight reacting with automobile exhaust and emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities. However ozone is not exclusively an urban problem. Gasoline vapors and chemical solvents such as those found in most paints and lacquers and many adhesives emit volatile organic compounds which also produce ozone when they react with sunlight. VOCs are a significant indoor air pollution problem as they not only react with sunlight to produce ozone but they are carcinogenic as well.
Allowing fresh air into our homes and supporting steps to improve clean air standards are ways that we can improve our overall health and the health of those that are just getting their start in the world. Now that’s a breath of fresh air!
Lara Kimbrell, AKA GreenTXmom & Physicschick, is a wife & mother to three precious little boys. Her family is her whole world & inspire her in so many ways. Alsoa regular contributor to The SNSPost & a published childrens author, she’s a physicist w/ a degree from Texas A&M & taught H.S. physics for years. She became interested in environmental health due to her oldest son’s asthma & inspired by her curious children she writes to engage all children in the amazing world of physical sciences.
