Pollutions Link to Birth-Weight - 0 views
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Kaoru Takayama on 14 Feb 13Bakalar, Nicholas. "Pollution's Link to Birth Weight." Pollutions Link to Birth Weight Comments. NewYork Times, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. Summary: As we continue to live in a world that contains 7 billion people, there is no doubt that we have damaged this planet with pollution. But studies have found that exposure to pollution during pregnancy can affect the baby with low-birth-weight. Researchers combined data from 3 million births from 9 different countries and 14 different health centers and came to the conclusion that the risk of low birth weight was 10 to 15% higher in polluted areas. Low-birth weight can lead to consequences later on in life, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other illnesses, and has a higher chance of dying early. Reaction: I was really intrigued with this article because we live in a world where pretty much everyone pollutes the planet everyday in one way or another. And its common knowledge that pollution is harmful to the environment and also for you, but I never knew that it could cause harm to babies. These babies will grow up to become the next generation that will have to face pollution unless we can find an efficient eco-friendly energy source, and it turns out that we are harming them from pollution before they are even born. This encourages me to now be furthermore active in protecting the environment and trying to make the world a better place for the next generation.