Polluted air particles can reach fetuses in the womb, study finds

Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy can result in pollution particles reaching the fetus through the placenta, a new study suggests.

This could negatively impact the baby's health throughout their lifespan, per the study, published this week in Nature Communications, as adult diseases may originate in the fetal stage as the result of in utero environmental exposures.

The placenta was previously thought to be impenetrable, reports CNN, and any miscarriages or premature births linked to pollution were thought to be the result of impacts on the health of the mother.

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But researchers from the study detected black carbon particles from air pollution breathed in by the mother had made their way to the placenta. Black carbon pollution stems from diesel-powered cars and the burning of coal, CNN reports.

The study analyzed 25 non-smoking women in Belgium, and studied the fetus-facing side of their placentas after birth. More black carbon exposure during pregnancy led to more black carbon found in the placenta, which may be "at least partially responsible for detrimental health effects from early life onwards," per the study. Read more at CNN.