Pollution: Fine dust found on the fetal side of the placenta

When we breathe polluted air, the fine particles caused by air pollution do not only reach the lungs. A recent study has shown that, in a pregnant woman, they even reach the uterus which is supposed to protect the growing baby.

During the study, published in Nature Communications in September 2019, researchers analyzed placenta samples from women who gave birth in Belgium and found particles of charcoal (basically soot) embedded in the placenta, on the side facing the baby.

The quantity of these dusts found in the placenta was directly related to the degree of pollution of the place of residence of the analyzed women.

The Nature Communications research is the first direct evidence that air pollutant particles can enter the part of the placenta that nourishes the developing fetus.

It could be the first step in explaining why high pollution is linked to an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth and low birth weights.

Developmental problems in the infant resulting from exposure to environmental pollutants have been linked to an inflammatory response in the mother’s body to air pollution, including inflammation within the uterus. But the new study further exacerbates the problem by demonstrating that air pollution can come into direct contact with the baby inside the womb.

The study in detail

The study looked specifically at black coal, a pollutant emitted by the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel and coal . Belgian researchers from Hasselt University Diepenbeek and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven used femtosecond pulsed laser illumination to test for the presence of soot in fabrics. The technique involves the use of extremely fast laser flashes, (every quadrillion seconds), to excite electrons within the tissue, which then emits light. Different tissues are known to generate certain colors, such as red for collagen and green for placenta cells. Black carbon is distinguished by the release of white light (indicated with white arrows in the photo below).

The researchers also verified whether the amount of dust detected in 20 placenta samples corresponded to the degree of pollution in the area of ​​residence of the women analysed. Unsurprisingly, more coal dust was found in samples from 10 women living in highly polluted areas than in those living in less polluted areas. An average of 9,500 particles per cubic millimeter of placental tissue was found in women exposed to less pollution, while 20,900 particles per cubic millimeter were found in women who lived in areas more exposed to pollutants.

Solutions?

Experts advise pregnant women to avoid busy roads. And for those who always live in areas with a high concentration of fine dust? Avoid opening the windows on the street side… But if you live in an area where the air you breathe is always bad, what do you do? Do you use a gas mask?

Just take a look at the Arpa website for your region in the section where they monitor fine dust, PM 10 and PM 2.5 to understand what we breathe on a daily basis. This, for example, is the situation in Veneto monitored week after week.

The fight against pollution must now concern everyone, but until something changes at a political level, it will be difficult to achieve extraordinary results.

Surely our health and that of our children is in danger, even before they are born, and it is no longer possible to postpone the interventions aimed at improving the air we breathe day after day. Let’s get busy, everyone.