New research has shown that fetuses may have black carbon particles in their developing organs due to air pollution as early as the first trimester of pregnancy.
The study, published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal, found that a newborn baby and its placenta are indeed exposed to air pollution, including black carbon nanoparticles, just like its parent.
This text is a translation of an article from CTV News.
Scientists from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and the University of Hasselt, Belgium, studied more than 60 pregnant women, including infants under four weeks old.
They analyzed the black carbon particles to see if the air pollutant could reach the fetus. Black carbon is black soot that is released into the air by fossil fuel combustion sources such as coal-fired power plants.
The scientists noted that the black carbon particles were found in umbilical cord blood, which is the blood that remains in the placenta after a baby is born, confirming that these particles can cross the placenta and enter the system of fetal circulation.
Additionally, this is the first research to find that black carbon particles can infiltrate the placenta and the fetus in the womb as early as the first trimester of pregnancy.
Scientists have also discovered that the pollution enters the developing organs of the fetus, such as the liver, lungs and brain.
This is a concerning finding, the study researchers wrote, because the exposure period is critical for the development of fetal organs.