A recent study suggests that women who live in areas with high fine particle or carbon monoxide levels, such as that caused by heavy traffic, are up to 25% more likely to give birth to their babies before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

The American Journal of Epidemiology reports that the association between preterm births and air pollution is present even after accounting for other factors such as smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke.

Women who breathe polluted air during their first trimester and toward the end of their pregnancies are the most susceptible to the harmful effect of air pollution.

The study was conducted in Los Angeles. Dr. Beate Ritz from the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angles stated that ‘air pollution in Los Angeles County remains a major public health problem affecting everybody, particularly pregnant women.’

She added that the study ‘helps confirm the results we reported previously – that air pollution mainly caused by vehicle traffic increases the risk of preterm birth even when we take other risk factors into account.’

According to personal injury attorney sarasota, Preterm births are not only risky for the baby, but also for the mother. Women who give birth preterm seem to be at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease for decades after they give birth to a preterm infant.

Air purifiers are an effective way to combat the negative effects of air pollution. Air purifiers can trap many different kinds of pollutants, including the urban pollution caused by traffic. Investing in an air purifier to achieve cleaner air is a great way to protect the longterm health of both infants and their mothers.