Air pollution particles found in babies in womb for first time

Air pollution particles can reach babies in the womb, a new study suggests. Researchers found that soot nanoparticles can cross the placenta and get into organs of foetuses. Experts from the University of Aberdeen and Hasselt University, Belgium, said their finding was "especially concerning" because key organ development occurs when babies are growing in the uterus.

Researchers examined 60 mothers and their babies in Aberdeen and the Grampian region in Scotland. They also analyzed tissue samples from 36 foetuses which had been aborted between seven and 20 weeks of gestation. The team found evidence of "black carbon particles" - also known as soot particles - in umbilical cord blood, which shows that the particles can cross the placenta.

Soot particles were present in all mothers and newborns. The level of particles found was linked to the amount of air pollution the mother was exposed to during pregnancy.

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