Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution on the Development of Infants

Abstract

The early exposures to environmental contaminants like ambient air pollution during the prenatal period may play a critical role in the development of a child. In the present study, infants of Kanpur city in India; one of the most polluted cities of the World, were studied for the developmental effects of air pollution. The city was divided into three areas; highly polluted (HPA), moderately polluted (MPA) and least polluted (LPA). The green area on the outskirts of the city was considered as the unexposed area (UA). Sample constituted of hundred healthy full term infants of lower middle income families; twenty five from each of the four areas; HPA, MPA, LPA and UA selected through purposive cum random sampling method. Mental and motor development of children was measured using the ‘Developmental Assessment Scale for Indian Infants’ (DASII) by Dr. Pramila Pathak. A significant difference was found between the mean scores of infants of exposed and control group in both the cases i.e., motor and mental development.