Residential Environmental Risks for Reproductive Age Women in High Pollution Area

Published research suggests there is an association between maternal inhalation of common ambient air pollutants and adverse birth outcomes, including an increased risk for preterm delivery, intrauterine growth retardation, small head circumference, low birth weight and increased rate of malformations. The air pollutants produced by indoor and outdoor combustion of biomass fuels, used by 50% of households worldwide, have been linked to acute lower respiratory infections, the single most important cause of mortality in children under the age of 5. This study describes a hypothesis-generating study in Shoubra El Khema Kaliobia, Egypt, conducted to assess maternal inhalation as well as air pollution in outcome of pregnancy including congenital abnormality, IUGR, IUFD, and neonatal death.