Air Pollution and Birth Outcomes

Air pollution has become a major environmental issue worldwide, and the impact of ambient air pollution on human health is a growing concern. Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy has been linked to adverse birth outcomes, including low birth weight, preterm birth, and being small for the gestational age. A recent study, partly funded by the National Research Foundation and conducted by a team of researchers from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, examined the impact of prenatal exposure to air pollution on adverse birth outcomes. The study assessed household-level air pollution estimates of exposure to pollutants nitrogen oxide (NO2); particle pollution or particulate matter (PM2.5) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) from land use regression models.