Air pollution linked to low birth weight

February 06, 2013

By Stephanie M. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle

[Pictured: Rachel Morello-Frosch, UC Berkeley]

Mothers who breathe the kind of pollution emitted by vehicles, coal power plants and factories are significantly likelier to give birth to underweight children than mothers living in less polluted areas, according to international findings published Wednesday.

The study is believed to be the largest to examine how newborns' bodies are affected by air quality, an issue that has raised particular concern in China and other developing nations.

Nearly 30 researchers, including three from the Bay Area, based their conclusions on more than 3 million births at 14 sites in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

 

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