The Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollution on Children Development

The impact of prenatal exposure to
environmental pollution on children
development

Issue Cover Sheet
Impaired foetal growth considers as one of the greatest public health concern to the
generation of children. It has evident that more than 30 million infants having low-birth-weight
(LBW) (>2,500g) are born every year worldwide. It is widely accepted now, that altered foetal
growth, premature delivery, LBW and more, are some highly concerning issues that mainly
cause due to prenatal exposure to air pollution, which increased multiple risk factors of diseases
in adulthood, such as cognitive impairment, hypertension, cancer, obesity, cardiovascular
diseases, diabetes, and cancers. A better understanding of consequences and potential effects of
exposure of environmental pollution on foetal and childhood growth, lead to take serious actions
for improving air quality by reducing the emission of carbon oxides that mainly cause due to
transport, especially in urban areas.
This report raise issues on serious causes of prenatal exposure towards outside pollutants
in Victoria, Australia, where situation has become so tensed regarding with impairment and
behaviour of child due to maternal psychological distress during pregnancy, including long-term
health impact on their development. Along with this, increasing mother’s exposure towards
pollution in the air, results in adverse birth outcomes, infant mortality, neuro development, lung
or respiratory infection etc. Therefore, it is recommended to Government of Victoria to develop
effective policies by concerning more on risk communication to pregnant women, with
determination of air toxicants in community and reduction of same.

Purpose
Prenatal exposure to the environmental pollutants like spores of mould, pesticides, smoking,
and traffic pollution has been advocated to impair the cognitive development of children across
time (Vieira, 2015). The purpose of the present report is to bring attention of policy holders and
government of Victoria towards adverse impact of prenatal exposure to pollution on growth of
children. In this state of Australia, transport sector contributes a major portion in polluting the air
by increasing level of carbon-di-oxide (CO2) (Estimating the health costs of air pollution in
Victoria, 2018). However, a number of actions have been taken by Australian Government to
reduce co-emitted air pollutants that brings co-benefits of air quality as well as health of human
being. But still it fails in reducing the factors that worsening air quality and impact severely on
health, especially on pregnant women. This report summarises available evidence that showcase
a policy brief on pollution exposure in utero and the negative impact on the developing child.
Background
In Australia, as per statistical reports, near about 5000 people die every year from exposure
of air pollution, with millions of premature death, where main factor behind same is cost of
ignoring the traffic pollution (Vieira, 2015). In context with Victoria, main sources of air
pollution include motor-vehicles, smoke from bushfires, power generating industries, more,
where electricity and transport sectors considered as two largest emitters of Green House gas
(GHG) emissions. Hereby, health costs fall mostly on urban populations Greater Melbourne
region, in Victoria due to greater densely populated are where pollutant concentrations almost on
higher level. Pregnant women, infants and foetuses in this regard, are particularly on high risk or
susceptible to air pollutants that alter development and might have long lasting consequences for
growth, long-term health and intellectual abilities of children (Maternal Exposure to Ambient Air
Pollution and Pregnancy Complications in Victoria, Australia, 2020). Prenatal exposure to both
indoor (moulds, tobacco...) and outdoor (traffic pollutants, industrial emission and so on) have
been negatively affected the long-term health and development. Exposure of pregnant women
towards outdoor air pollutants, which includes volatile compounds like CO2 produced by motor
vehicles or other transports, potentially results in impairing cognitive development of child.
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