Air pollution could have a cognitive impact on unborn babies, according to a new study from the University of Tennessee’s Health Science Center.
For over a decade, researchers have followed more than 1,000 Shelby County children to see how their mother’s exposure to pollution during pregnancy affected their early cognitive development. Children exposed to more pollution in utero had an increased likelihood of a lower IQ by four years of age, researchers found.
The study raises questions about Shelby County’s air quality, as pollution levels typically fall within what federal guidelines consider safe.
“We found an effect in a very low exposure range, suggesting that maybe this needs to be looked at by other people,” says Dr. Fran Tylavsky one of the study’s co-authors at UTHSC.
She cautions that the research needs to be supplemented and replicated at a larger scale to draw any sweeping conclusions.
Still, she says pregnant women should use the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow website to monitor their daily, local air-quality rating.
“If it is orange or higher," Tylavsky says, "You should probably consider minimizing your time outside.”
The study also found that folate, or folic acid, a vitamin commonly taken by pregnant women to prevent birth defects, could counteract negative impacts of air pollution on a fetus.