Traffic pollution causes underweight babies

Source: BBC Science & Enviroment.

Researchers from the Univeristiy of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, discarded other possible factors such as smoking, race or socioeconomic background to determine that pollution, specfically pollution caused by road traffic, is a major cause of abdnormally low weight in newborns.

The risk of a small birth weight baby rose significantly with each increase in particulate matter of four micrograms per metres squared, during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. Similarly, the risk of a very small birth weight baby rose significantly with each 10 parts per billion increase in nitrogen dioxide.

These two pollutants are emitted by motor vehicles.
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