The study found toxic pollution particles in the lungs and brain of the fetus. Actions to prevent uterine deaths would strengthen women’s health and equality.
Air pollution causes the death of almost a million children in the womb every year.
The recent study is the first to estimate the number of deaths in utero. Research (you switch to another service) covered 137 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, where the rate of in utero deaths is the highest. A British newspaper reported on the study The Guardian (you are switching to another service).
Air pollution particles were detected in the placenta for the first time in 2018. At that time, air pollution was known to be associated with miscarriages, premature births, low birth weights and disturbances in brain development.
According to the World Health Organization WHO, almost the entire population of the earth, 99 percent of people, breathes air that is a threat to your health (you switch to another service).
Atmospheric researcher and academic Markku Kulmalan according to the number is large, but realistic.
– I see no reason to doubt it. The situation is bad in every way, says Kulmala in an interview with .
According to the WHO, air pollution causes seven million premature deaths every year. Poor countries and especially residents of Southeast Asian countries suffer most from pollution.
According to WHO’s definition, it is uterine death when the fetus dies in the womb after the 22nd week of pregnancy or when a stillborn weighs 500 grams or more. Before this, the loss of the fetus is classified as a miscarriage.
According to a recent study, uterine death can be caused by pollution particles passing through the placenta, which damage the placenta and cause embryo damage.
In addition to this, air pollution can limit the mother’s body’s ability to deliver oxygen to the fetus.
Small particles are also linked to cancer cases
Although Finland has traditionally had clean air, the concentrations of small particles and ozone in the cities are at a level harmful to human health according to the latest WHO guideline values.
Markku Kulmala confirms that small particles from air pollution cause health problems and deaths, in the same way as, for example, tobacco and asbestos.
– Small particles affect diseases of the respiratory system, heart and circulatory diseases when they enter the bloodstream and possibly cause cancer, Kulmala says.
According to Kulmala, the figures that appeared in the research results about deaths in utero in developing countries are true. The poorer the country, the more people die on average from air pollution.
Premature deaths in Finland too
The Department of Health and Welfare is rated (you switch to another service)that small particles in the outdoor air cause approximately 1,800 premature deaths in Finland each year, and the number of milder harms is many times greater.
The WHO has stated that poor air quality affects children’s health in particular.
Fetal deaths in Finland stated (you switch to another service) about 150 annually, but the connection of the deaths to air pollution is unknown.
Protection can help
Reducing air pollution would improve human health around the world, especially among the most vulnerable individuals.
British newspaper of The Guardian (you will switch to another service) the research doctor interviewed Tao Xue Peking University says that an individual can try to protect himself from air pollution, for example by using a face mask and installing an air purifier at home.
Pregnant women should also avoid going outside in the most polluted areas.
According to a recent study, measures to prevent uterine deaths would strengthen women’s health and equality, because Deaths are always a heavy burden for mothers and their families.
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