Although the fetus in the uterus does not appear to be affected by most external factors, in fact, everything that affects the mother will directly affect the child. Now, scientists have found that soot particles can be detected in the embryo as early as the first three months of pregnancy, long before the baby starts breathing, a common air pollutant .
When a child is born, he will scream, filling his lungs with air, but by then they have been contaminated with
Soot particles everywhere: they are emitted by internal combustion engines of cars, coal-fired thermal power plants, aircraft turbines and trees burning in forest fires. Although soot ash itself is non-toxic, its particles can serve as an excellent carrier for other toxic substances released during the combustion of heavy metals and carbon fuels.
Previously, scientists have shown that , smoke particles, together with mother's blood, can reach placenta , but it is not clear whether they will penetrate further into the developing embryo itself. Now scientists know the answer: Yes, they know. And soon.
A team of scientists from the University of Hasselt (Belgium) found that the amount of soot particles inhaled by mothers is proportional to the amount they are in the placenta and in the child’s body (data are collected after samples obtained during normal labor and after the pregnancy). The study included only samples from women who did not smoke during or before pregnancy.
Scientists found that there is a close relationship between the concentration of smoke particles in mother's blood, umbilical cord blood and placenta and the content of pollutants in the air in the residential areas of pregnant women. In the baby's body, smoke particles have been found in the liver, lungs and brain during the first three months and mid-term pregnancy.
Hotel power plants' chimneys are one of the main sources of urban smoke particles
These results are particularly shocking, because the harmful substances carried by smoke particles will undoubtedly affect the development of fetal organs and maternity and childbirth complications. In the future, scientists plan to clarify the mechanism of spreading soot particles from the parent to the embryo, and emphasize the importance of reducing the use of carbon fuel, one of the main sources of soot in the air.
This study was published in "The Lancet Planet Health" .
