Right To Breathe: How To Protect Babies From Bad AQI

“Despite progress in maternal and child health, every day almost 2000 children under five years old die because of health impacts linked to air pollution,” UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kitty van der Heijden. 

As parents, we strive to provide our children with the best of everything, but what about the air they breathe? Air pollution has become a global concern because of the alarming health impact, and children, especially those below 5 years of age are extremely vulnerable to it. A report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) revealed that 99% of the world population in 2021 was living in places where WHO’s strictest 2021 air quality guidelines were not met. Reading this blog will help you understand why it is high time to take action and what measures can be followed to protect our children.

Why Babies Are At Higher Risk?

Let us first try to understand why babies are more vulnerable to air pollution-induced damage. Here are 3 possible reasons: 

#1. A baby’s brain can sustain damage even from a small amount of toxins owing to their smaller bodies and organs. As such the damage is much more impactful. 

#2. The immune system of babies is also not fully developed, which means that their bodies are not capable of fighting these harmful foreign particles. 

#3. Babies tend to breathe faster than others and hence take in more air, which naturally increases their exposure to the pollutants and their impact. 

How Air Pollution Affects Newborns

Air pollution has been linked with increased risks of preterm births and low birth weight. Such babies are more susceptible to various health conditions such as respiratory infections, brain damage, inflammation, haematological disorders, and jaundice. Preterm birth and low birth weight are the leading risk factors for 1st-month mortality. Although there is no known biological reason that explains the link between air pollution and adverse birth outcomes, The State Of Global Air (SOGA), in its article on Air Pollution Impacts On Newborns highlighted “It is thought that air pollution may affect a pregnant woman, her developing foetus, or both in ways analogous to tobacco smoking, which is a well-known risk factor for low birth weight and preterm birth.” 

How Air Pollution Affects Baby’s Lungs

According to a 2017 Unicef report, “17 million babies under the age of 1 breathe toxic air; the majority live in South Asia.” 

The lungs start forming during the 4th - 7th weeks of pregnancy and these keep on developing till early adulthood. When exposed to polluted air while still inside the womb, the lung’s structural and functional development is hampered. NIH conducted a study that highlighted that exposure to air pollution can impair lung function in infants, in terms of airway caliber and lung volume. It was also found that even “comparatively low levels of air pollution negatively affect lung function in early life.”  

The pollutants can weaken the baby’s immune system, affecting its ability to fight the pathogens in the respiratory tract and compromise the inflammatory response making the baby more susceptible to infections of the lower respiratory tract, including pneumonia.

Oxidative stress caused by pollution and lung damage can increase a child’s risks of developing asthma, which happens to be one of the most common chronic diseases in children. Asthma is characterised by symptoms like wheezing, coughing, breathlessness and tightness in the chest.

How Air Pollution Affects Baby’s Brain Development

According to the former UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake “Not only do pollutants harm babies’ developing lungs – they can permanently damage their developing brains – and, thus, their futures,”

The superfine pollution particles are so small that they can easily make their way into the baby’s bloodstream. From there, they can travel to the brain and damage its surrounding barrier, causing severe inflammation. If pollutants like ultrafine magnetite are inhaled by the baby, they can trigger oxidative stress owing to their magnetic properties and increase the risks of developing various neurodegenerative diseases. Pollution particles like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can disrupt neuron communication by damaging certain areas of the brain. This can dramatically impact the baby’s overall development as well as their learning ability as they grow.  The implications can be lifelong and hamper their cognitive development.

How Air Pollution Affects Baby’s Gut

Babies are born with very little resident bacteria (i.e. bacteria that permanently live within the body, such as gut bacteria) and they gradually develop these over a span of 2 or 3 years following the birth as they are exposed to breastmilk, complementary foods and environmental factors. These microbes are very important as they help break down the food and play a vital role in shaping the baby’s appetite, cognition, mood and immunity. 

The first ever study to show how air pollution changes infant gut microbial health during the 1st 6 months was published in 2022. One of the authors, Tanya L. Alderete revealed, “Overall, we saw that ambient air pollution exposure was associated with a more inflammatory gut-microbial profile, which may contribute to a whole host of future adverse health outcomes.” 

Global Impact Of Air Pollution On Children 

In a Press Release published on 18th June 2024, Unicef revealed that 8.1 million lives were lost globally in 2021 as a result of air pollution, which is “becoming the second leading risk factor for death, including for children under five years.” This was based on a report released by the Health Effects Institute (HEI). The report also highlighted the increased vulnerability in children below 5 years of age. In 2021, more than 700,000 children, all under the age of 5, lost their lives to air pollution, thus becoming the 2nd leading cause of mortality in the age group, while the 1st one being Child Malnutrition. Surprisingly, as many as 500,000 cases among these were caused by household air pollution. 

Although air pollution affects every individual irrespective of age, it’s children who generally bear the greatest impact. Surprisingly, it starts even before a child is born, i.e. when they are still inside the womb and it isn’t hard to guess that the impact can be life-long. Increased exposure to air pollution, in younger children, has been linked to the increased incidence of pneumonia and asthma. The former is responsible for 1 out of every 5 deaths in children and the latter is the most common chronic respiratory condition seen in kids, according to the Unicef Report. 

“Despite progress in maternal and child health, every day almost 2000 children under five years old die because of health impacts linked to air pollution,” UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kitty van der Heijden. “Our inaction is having profound effects on the next generation, with lifelong health and well-being impacts. The global urgency is undeniable. It is imperative governments and businesses consider these estimates and locally available data and use it to inform meaningful, child-focused action to reduce air pollution and protect children’s health.”

How You Can Protect Your Baby From Air Pollution

Outdoor Air Pollution

#1. Keep a track of the air quality in your area and plan your activities based on it. 

#2. Avoid spending too much time in polluted areas, ie.areas where there is too much traffic congestion or where there are a lot of factories around. 

#3. Plan your travelling at that part of the day when the pollution levels are low. 

#5. When the pollution levels are high, avoid taking your baby out. 

#6. If your baby has an existing respiratory illness, stay indoors. 

Indoor Air Pollution

#1. Opt for cleaner fuels for cooking. Ideally use an induction, natural gas, biogas, liquefied petroleum, and solar stoves. 

#2. Your kitchen/cooking area should be well-ventilated. Get an exhaust fan installed in your kitchen if you don’t have one yet. This will prevent the gases and fumes from accumulating.

#3. Children, as well as pregnant women, should be kept away from smoke. Avoid smoking indoors as second-hand smoke, too, can prove to be extremely hazardous.

#4. Watch out for common household agents that contain toxic pollutants, such as cleaning chemicals, paint and other household chemicals. 

#5. If possible, get an air purifier installed at your home, or at least in your bedroom. Choose one with HEPA filters as these are more 

#6. Exclusively breastfeed the baby for the first 6 months as this helps to boost the baby’s immunity against various diseases caused by air pollution.

#7. If you have already started complementary feeding, make sure that your baby gets healthy and nutritious food.

#8. Make sure that your baby does not miss any of the vaccinations as these help to alleviate the risks of serious respiratory infections. 

Every child has the right to breathe clean. Let’s make sure that none is deprived of it.