The Effects of Air Pollution on Pregnancy Air pollution can undoubtedly be harmful to pregnancy. Substances such as carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, benzene, solid biomass emissions and nitroarenes all contribute to air pollution. Studies conducted in North Carolina, California, and eastern India all conclude the same thing; Air pollutants affect the health of children during pregnancy. The most serious effects of these toxins include cancer, short- and long-term morbidity, and fetal mortality. Still harmful, but less traumatizing, effects include low birth weight, small-for-gestational-age delivery, and preterm birth. PM2.5 is particulate matter present in the air. One study shows it reduces birth weight by 3.1 g (Gray, 2013). Since most air pollution is attributed to gas and diesel fuels, this problem is still far from solved. With the population constantly increasing, more and more vehicles are on the roads. Unless more environmentally friendly vehicles take hold, exhaust emissions will continue to increase. This impact can be huge since carbon monoxide is part of vehicle exhaust and exposure to CO during pregnancy can increase the risk of cancer in children. A study on the correlation between cancer and air pollution shows that more cases of leukemia occurred along busy roads (Heck, 2013). Studies conducted on mice with O3 pollution have resulted in impaired outcomes in the lungs and reproductive tract in baby mice, as well as fewer viable pregnancies (Gray, 2013). Another source of air pollution is the types of fuel women use for cooking at home and the ventilation of the house. A study conducted in India shows that kerosene was the most harmful fuel group with 9.1% of babies stillborn (Wylie, 2014). With more testing and time, more observations about air pollution... middle of paper... or umbilical cord blood could lead to more explanations as to why. The most common effects of air pollution are low birth weight, preterm birth, and small for gestational age, although some effects can become serious such as stillbirths and cancer. The common theme in studies is that air pollution contributes largely to vehicle emissions. Women living in suburban or urban areas are most at risk. Household emissions and inadequate ventilation are another concern that women in some countries face. Although not much research has been conducted on this topic, it is becoming an increasingly pressing problem as population increases without land increase. As problems from things like particulate matter and nitrogen oxide in the air increase, more research will need to be done to see how they work once in the mother's body and how they transfer to the fetus..