'Research has now linked prenatal and postnatal air pollution exposure to reduced IQ and other cognitive problems, developmental disorders, and even structural changes in the brains of children.' 📝 Frederica Perera
such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression in children. These conditions often persist, affecting health and brain function in adulthood. They also add to the list of harms that have been more widely recognized as being related to climate change and air pollution: heat-related illness, drowning and physical trauma from severe storms and floods, premature birth and low birth weight, asthma, and other respiratory disease.Extreme Heat Makes It Hard for Kids to Be Active.
Importantly, the new understanding of the vulnerability of the fetal brain has dispelled several myths: The first was the long-held belief that the placenta served as a perfect barrier, protecting the fetus from exposure to harmful agents in the mother’s environment. The next was that the baby’s brain was effectively protected by a “blood-brain barrier” acting as a sentinel to prevent the passage of toxic agents into the fetal brain.
There are many reasons why the young brain is so vulnerable. The rapid and complex developmental programming during the fetal period is especially prone to disruption by toxic air pollutants and climate-related stressors. Consider the fact that almost all of the 100 billion nerve cells in our adult brainsand much of the architecture of the brain was built at this time. Vulnerability continues through the early years as the brain continues to develop along complex pathways.
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