a close-up portrait of a small African-American baby girl in a white bodysuit on a cotton bed at home, a funny six-month-old smiling joyful black newborn baby lies on the back.
It’s hard to picture anyone more vulnerable than a very young newborn infant.
Infants are one of the highest risk categories of people exposed to different kinds of air pollutants and contaminants. New research is showing just what kind of affects this can have on a newborn. That includes infants who are delivered around an expected due date, as well as premature deliveries, where infants are even more vulnerable due to less development at the time of birth.
A spate of articles came out early this spring about a project undertaken by researchers where they studied thousands of labor and delivery cases, to find rates of NICU admittance affected by air pollutants like nitrogen oxide and ultra fine particles.
Methodology and Findings
Scientist analyzed a range of subjects and grouped them by regions of the country. They found, in general, that infants in rural regions were more likely to suffer from the effects of air pollution.
In general, what they found was a 30% to 35% increase in NICU admissions for infants where the mother was exposed to nitrogen oxide in late pregnancy, as well as an 11% to 22% increase in NICU visits for cases where the mother was exposed to PM 2.5.
What are these pollutants?
Nitrogen oxide is a byproduct of vehicle exhaust.
PM 2.5 is a bit different. It’s a byproduct of combustion, including wood or coal combustion. That means PM 2.5 can come from industrial activities, or even natural wildfires.
We’ve written a lot about PM 2.5 as wildfires are becoming increasingly common around the country. The term refers to ultrafine particles with a diameter around 2.5 µm on the nanoscale. They can’t be seen, and can’t always be smelled or otherwise detected.
Other Neonatal Outcomes
To contrast these kinds of problems, let’s look at how something as simple as humidity has an impact on NICU cases.
This paper tracks the humidity in NICU facilities across various neonatal cases, and determines that it’s important to have proper humidity to help reduce the rates of infections and respiratory conditions.
So you can imagine that air quality is extremely important in these neonatal departments, too.
It’s all about controlling the environment, to give these young babies a better chance of survival and quality of life.
But now we know that an expecting mother should also avoid some of these chemicals and particles as they prepare for labor and delivery.
It’s not just pregnant women, either. Elderly people are another class of people who have high risk for problems related to a variety of air pollutants.
Where Do Air Pollutants Come From?
As mentioned, chemical compounds like nitrogen oxide come from vehicle exhaust. Carbon dioxide is another product of this type of combustion that also comes from various sources.
Then there’s PM 2.5 and fine particles of that type.
But other pollutants come from consumer products and building materials. We call these volatile organic compounds or VOCs. They include items like benzene, formaldehyde, and something called trichloroethylene or TCE.
These chemicals can off-gas from items that you bring into your home. They can be in treated lumber or other kinds of building materials like laminate flooring.
In addition, there are natural pollutants like mold and mildew.
Many of these contaminants can be present in hospitals, too. Or they can be in spaces where a newborn is traveling,
Portable Air Purifiers
Wherever you need defense from air pollution, some of these portable air purifiers can help.
Take a look at the Amaircare Roomaid, an ozone-free unit rated for 300 square feet. With a five-year warranty and HEPA filtration, this model provides good protection from some of the worst contaminants.
Or there’s this Airfree model with its own look and feel, and a proprietary capsule system for battling air pollutants.
Also, there’s a Respiray wearable that revolutionizes portable protection.
US Air Purifiers LLC can help you to choose the best design, with background information on air quality and remediating pollutants. You want to have the right cycling power, and the right features, to fit your needs, and we have a track record of assisting in recommending the best purchases. Get confident about your indoor air quality!