We know that the environment is key during pregnancy, and air pollution is a risk factor that increases the risk of premature birth, low birth weight and altered brain development at birth that affects throughout life. A new study has found black carbon nanoparticles, or soot, in the placenta, lungs, and brain of fetuses before they took their first breath.
These alarming findings, found by members of the University of Aberdeen (Scotland), were made even during the first trimester of pregnancy, which is of particular concern to the researchers, as it would indicate that black carbon nanoparticles could cross the placenta and reach the fetus in full development of organs such as the liver, lungs or brain, with the important risks that this entails.
These soot nanoparticles are released by internal combustion engines, coal power plants and other sources whose activity is the burning of fossil fuels. Black carbon is included in particulate matter (PM), which is the main air pollutant and is usually measured to give data on pollution. The results have been published in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health.
Polluting nanoparticles cross the placenta and reach the fetus
“We were all concerned that if the nanoparticles entered the fetus, they could 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 enter the first- and second-trimester placenta, but also find their way to the organs of the developing fetus, including the liver and lungs. ”, declared Paul Fowler, one of the researchers.
Black carbon nanoparticles could cross the placenta and reach the developing fetus in the liver, lungs or brain
This is very worrying, however, what most alarms researchers is that these harmful black carbon nanoparticles can reach the developing brain of fetuses, directly affecting control systems within cells and of organs in human babies.
The authors of the study have stated that now that it is known that this type of air pollution can reach the placenta, and therefore, directly to the developing fetus, there is an increased need to fully understand the mechanisms involved in the risks they generate. In addition, actions must be taken to try to reduce environmental pollution in the most affected cities, thus reducing the risk of health problems in pregnant women and their babies.
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