Maternal Exposure to Outdoor Air Pollution Associated With Low Birth Weights Worldwide

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130206093551.htm

Feb. 6, 2013 — Mothers who are exposed to particulate air pollution of the type emitted by vehicles, urban heating and coal power plants are significantly more likely to bear children of low birth weight, according to an international study led by co-principal investigator Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, MPH, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive sciences at UC San Francisco along with Jennifer Parker, PhD, of the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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"What's significant is that these are air pollution levels to which practically everyone in the world is commonly exposed," said Woodruff. "These microscopic particles, which are smaller than the width of a human hair, are in the air that we all breathe."

Woodruff noted that nations with tighter regulations on particulate air pollution have lower levels of these air pollutants. "In the United States, we have shown over the last several decades that the benefits to health and wellbeing from reducing air pollution are far greater than the costs," said Woodruff. "This is a lesson that all nations can learn from."