Highway Proximity and Infant Health
A recent Canadian study shows that pregnant women who live near highways are more likely to give birth to premature or low-birth-weight infants--but only among wealthy mothers. Pollution from the highways is what causes these effects, researchers say. The reason why these results are not found among poorer mothers is, says lead researcher Dr. Melissa Generoux, because poorer mothers have so many more risk factors that this particular single factor has less of an obvious effect. Wealthier mothers, safe from other risks, are more likely to be noticeably affected by this one factor.
Expecting mothers are bombarded with advice and even lectures on the minutest details of what they consume during pregnancy, and are often overcome with anxiety over these matters. Yet they and their children are still powerfully affected by factors outside their personal control, such as the level of pollution near residential areas.
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