Air pollution affects babies before they take their first breath, new study reveals
Black carbon pollutes the lungs and other vital organs of an unborn baby
Last updated 6th Oct 2022
Unborn babies have air pollution nanoparticles, otherwise known as black carbon, in their developing lungs and vital organs from the first trimester, a new study has revealed.
Scientists at the University of Aberdeen and Hasselt University, in Belgium, studied black carbon, with findings showing that it can cross the placenta into the foetus of the womb as early as the first trimester.
There was previously no evidence that the particles entered the foetus.
The team at both universities behind the study say the findings are worrying.
Professor Tim Nawrot, from Hasselt University, said: "We know that exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and infancy has been linked with still birth, preterm birth, low weight babies and disturbed brain development, with consequences persisting throughout life.
"We show in this study that the number of black carbon particles that get into the mother are passed on proportionally to the placenta and into the baby.
To answer the question of whether these particles travel from the placenta to the foetus, Professor Nawrot linked up with Professor Paul Fowler at the University of Aberdeen, whose team studies first and second trimester human foetuses.
Professor Fowler said: "We all worried that if nanoparticles were getting into the foetus, then they might be directly affecting its development in the womb.
"What we have shown for the first time is that black carbon air pollution nanoparticles not only get into the first and second trimester placenta, but then also find their way into the organs of the developing foetus, including the liver and lungs.
"What is even more worrying is that these black carbon particles also get into the developing human brain.
"This means that it is possible for these nanoparticles to directly interact with control systems within human foetal organs and cells."
The study authors conclude that now it is known that the developing baby in the womb is directly exposed to black carbon air pollution particles, uncovering the mechanisms involved in health risks has become even more urgent.