More evidence emerged this week that pollutants from sources like indoor coal stoves, smoking and vehicle exhausts may put babies at a much higher risk of birth defects.
The magazine Nature this week reported on findings from researchers in China that showed babies exposed in the womb to organic pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may lead to spina bidifa and other neural tube defects, which affect more than 320,000 infants worldwide each year.
The Chinese research team found the increased risk when certain organic pollutants are found in the placenta, but they couldn't say with certainty that those chemicals are causing birth defects.
In all the individuals studied, the risk of birth defects was 4.5 times greater when PAHs were greater than the average found in the placenta. As the amount of PAHs rose, so did the risk, to more than 11 times the average.
To read more about the study, click here.