Pregnant mothers who live in air pollution are at risk of giving birth to children with congenital anomalies – especially cleft lip and palate orofacial (CLP).
This is according to research by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), in partnership with surgeons, researchers and Operation Smile.
Research
The research is presented this month in the Climate Child Health Series: The Impact of Climate Change on Infant Health Outcomes, hosted online by the US Child Health Task Force and the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund.
SAMRC said that the study included cases of patients with CLP from 2006 to 2020. From two databases, 2 515 cases were examined for air pollution, assessed in the mother’s home.
“The study identified an association between increasing trends in CLP and maternal exposure during early pregnancy to particulate air pollution (PM), PM10 and PM2.5,” said SAMRC.
Experts define CLP as a birth anomaly that usually affects the baby’s lips or mouth and nose because these parts are not formed properly during pregnancy.
“This can happen between weeks four and seven of pregnancy. When the baby is developing, body tissue and specialized cells from each side of the head join to make the face. SAMRC says there are a number of causes of CLP.
These include genes; what the mother eats and drinks; does he smoke; use certain types of drugs during pregnancy; and the environment in which a woman conceives.
Dr Caradee Wright, chief specialist scientist at SAMRC’s Environment and Health Research Unit, said: “Air pollution levels are known to be high in South Africa, from coal-fired power plants, traffic, domestic fuel burning, mining, industry and other sources.
“We want to explore whether maternal exposure to air pollution affects the risk of cleft lip and palate in babies in South Africa.”
Wright said clusters of CLP birth hotspots were found in county municipalities in Gauteng, Limpopo, North West, Mpumalanga and the Free State.
Read more: Drinking during pregnancy
Findings
The findings underscore the need for stricter air quality management to protect the health of unborn babies. The researchers also called on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and Air Pollution Priority Areas to strictly regulate air quality.
“Information needs to be given to mothers about the risks of air pollution to their unborn babies – especially during very early pregnancy. So, it’s important if anyone wants to get pregnant, to try and limit their exposure to air pollution.
This, says SAMRC, can be done by avoiding indoor fires without adequate ventilation and not walking or exercising on busy roads during rush hour.
According to the SAMRC, CLP patients experience a higher risk of mortality and deal with the negative effects of physical challenges such as speech impediments, physical deficiencies in appearance, and psychosocial problems. “
Added to the difficulties faced by children with CLP are nutritional problems caused by the inability to consume food.
Malnutrition as a result of CLP is not properly recorded as the death certificate is [just] malnourished.”
The study found that an approach, where different disciplines cooperate and share data on all mother information and pollutant volumes in all provinces can prevent CLP if possible. It can also reduce the suffering and financial burden for those affected.
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