BABIES in polluted areas are apparently getting smaller, with research presented this week at the European Respiratory Society International Congress finding a correlation between the "greenness" of a woman's location and baby birth weight.
A team from the University of Bergen in Norway used satellite images to measure the density of vegetation close to where 4,300 women lived during their pregnancies, while also linking the information to data on five key atmospheric pollutants.
The observational study found that higher levels of air pollution were linked with about 50g average lower birth weights, an impact which was mitigated for those who lived in greener areas.
The results suggest that pregnant women exposed to air pollution, even at relatively low levels, tend to give birth to smaller infants while living in a greener area seemed to counteract this effect.
"It could be that green areas tend to have lower traffic, or that plants help to clear the air of pollution, or green areas may mean it's easier for pregnant women to be physically active," the paper suggested.
There is a strong relationship between birth weight and long-term lung health involving conditions such as asthma and COPD, the researchers noted.
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