There have been two recent studies that may be quite worrisome for pregnant women.
One study found that pregnant women who are exposed to high levels of air pollution may be putting their children at increased risk of developing anxiety, depression and attention problems.
The study, led by Dr. Frederica Perera at Columbia University, was reported last week in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. It took a look at pollution compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – the byproduct of burning fossil fuels, tobacco and other organic material. Exposure to PAHs in car exhaust and cigarette smoke can be detected in the air and in the blood.
In New York City, 100 percent of the women who participated in the study had detectable levels of PAH in their homes.
“Our study provides new evidence that prenatal exposures to these air pollutants, at levels commonly encountered in New York City and other urban areas, may adversely affect child behavior,” said Perera.
In the report involving 253 nonsmoking inner-city women who gave birth between 1999 and 2006, those with the highest levels of detectable PAH in their homes, as measured by the researchers during the mothers’ third trimester of pregnancy, were 4.5 times more likely to have children with anxiety problems that might qualify for a clinical diagnosis.
Additionally, women with higher levels of PAH residues in their blood at the time of delivery were 23 percent more likely to have children scoring higher on the anxiety and depression measures than those with lower levels, and babies who had elevated amounts of PAH in their cord blood were 46 percent more likely to be anxious or depressed than those with the lowest amounts.
In another study that was presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology meeting last week, pregnancy and hormonal changes that continue 12 weeks after giving birth increase a woman’s risk of heart attack. Also, heart attacks during pregnancy tend to be more severe and lead to more complications.
The study further noted that although the likelihood of a pregnant woman having a heart attack was low – 1 in every 16,000 deliveries – it is still three to four times higher than non-pregnant women of the same age.
“We have very clear guidelines for (heart attack) in the general population,” said Dr. Uri Elkayam the study’s lead researcher. “These guidelines, however, may not always apply to women with pregnancy-associated heart attacks and may actually cause more harm than good.”
