A recent study conducted by researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health revealed a worrying relationship between pregnant women’s exposure to air pollution and a slowdown in the process of brain maturation in newborns.
The joint study, in cooperation with Hospital Del Mar and the Center for Epidemiological Research and Public Health, showed that mothers’ exposure to high levels of airborne fine particles (PM2.5) during pregnancy leads to a slowdown in the myelination process in the brains of their newborns, which is the vital process that coats nerve connections to enhance the efficiency of transmitting information.
Fine particles (PM2.5) are known for their extremely small size, with a diameter of about thirty times less than the thickness of a human hair, and they consist of a mixture of pollutants resulting from combustion and toxic organic compounds, along with essential elements such as iron, copper and zinc.
The study was based on following up a group of pregnant women in three major hospitals in Barcelona, and 132 newborn babies underwent advanced magnetic resonance imaging examinations during the first month to assess the level of maturity of their brains by measuring the progress of the myelination process. The results showed a clear link between increased exposure to fine particles during pregnancy and a decline in the level of myelination in the brain.
This study is considered the first of its kind to focus on analyzing brain development during the first month of life. In turn, the researchers warned that any imbalance in the pace of brain maturation, whether excessive slowdown or abnormal acceleration, may negatively affect the neurological health and cognitive abilities of children in the later stages of their lives.
It is noteworthy that this study opens new horizons for understanding the optimal pace of brain maturation during pregnancy, and the role of the mother and the placenta as a natural line of defense to protect the fetus’s neurological development, and highlights the necessity of controlling air pollution to protect the health of future generations.