Women Close To Freeway 128% More Likely To Give Birth Prematurely

A new study from UC Irvine in Los Angeles concludes that women who live within 1.9 miles of a major roadway increase their risk of premature birth by 128%.

1 minute read

July 5, 2009, 7:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

The report is one of several recent studies linking air pollution with pregnancy problems.

"A comparison of medical records from 81,186 single child births to air pollution levels in the area revealed that high pollution exposure raised the risk of a severely premature birth by 128 percent.

Moms-to-be were also between 33 and 42 percent more likely to develop preeclampsia, an affliction characterized by high blood pressure that often forces doctors to induce premature birth in order to save mothers' lives."

FULL STORY: L.A. Traffic Causing Premature Births: Study

Thursday, July 2, 2009 in Treehugger

Environment California Public Health Air Pollution

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