Babies in prams are exposed to up to 60 per cent more air pollution than adults, new research suggests.
The air in the first metre above the ground is usually the most polluted due to it being level with vehicle exhaust fumes, the study found.
Babies’ prams typically sit between 0.55m and 0.85m from the pavement, the research adds.
Fine air particles, which weigh less than 0.0025mg, are given out in vehicle exhaust fumes and, when breathed in, become deposited in the lungs where they enter the circulation.
Such fumes can then damage babies’ brains, hindering their cognitive development, according to the researchers.
Babies in prams are exposed to up to 60 per cent more air pollution than adults (stock)
‘Infants breathe in higher amounts of airborne particles relative to their lung size’
The researchers, from the University of Surrey, analysed more than 160 studies investigating air pollution.
Professor Prashant Kumar, the founding director of the Global Centre for Clean Air Research at the university, said: ‘We know that infants breathe in higher amounts of airborne particles relative to their lung size and body weight compared to adults.
‘What we have proven here is the height most children travel at while in a pram doubles the likelihood of negative impacts from air pollution when compared to an adult.
‘When you also consider how vulnerable they are because of their tissues, immune systems and brain development at this early stage of their life, it is extremely worrying that they are being exposed to these dangerous levels of pollution.
‘With the multitude of evidence set out in this review, it is important that everyone across the country begin a full and frank conversation about pollution and the impact it has on our most vulnerable’.
‘Highlights established concerns about air pollution’
Speaking of the results, published in the Environment International journal, said Dr Stefan Reis, from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said: ‘Effective reduction of exposure to harmful levels of air pollution, in particular for children and other vulnerable groups, needs to be based on robust experimental evidence.
‘This literature review does not present any new results, but highlights established general concerns about air pollution exposure, and will help focus future research in this direction.’
The researchers believe air pollution exposure could be reduced by controlling vehicle emissions, planting bushes between roads and pedestrians and encouraging people to carpool or use public transport.
Women exposed to air pollution before getting pregnant are nearly 20% more likely to have babies with birth defects
This comes after research released last January suggested women exposed to air pollution before getting pregnant are nearly 20 per cent more likely to have babies with birth defects.
Living within 5km of a highly-polluted area one month before conceiving makes women more likely to give birth to babies with defects such as cleft palates or lips, a study by the University of Cincinnati found.
As well as cleft lips or palates, another common complication is the protrusion of the stomach or intestines through an unusual opening in the abdomen, the research adds.
For every 0.01mg/m3 increase in fine air particles, birth defects rise by 19 per cent, the study found.
Previous research suggests air pollution causes birth defects as a result of women suffering inflammation and ‘internal stress’.