Air Pollution Effects on American Infants

Air pollution contains various particles that can be inhaled. While adults have the capability to filter pollutants through their nostrils due to breathing through their noses, infants cannot. As a result, infants can be subjected to inhaling a vast amount of air contaminants. The effects of inhaling pollutants can lead to diseases that include asthma or even premature death.

Inhalation of Pollutants

• According to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, children can be more susceptible to air inhalation because of how they breathe. Instead of breathing through their noses, children often breathe through their mouths. Children also breathe faster than adults, which results in more air pollution particles being inhaled. Since an infant hasn't had time to develop his immune system and organs, the inhalation of air pollution can be damaging to them.

Ozone Effects

• Smokestacks can damage your infant's lungs.

  An infant can develop sensitivity to pollutants as his respiratory system develops. Contaminants in the air can lead to respiratory damage. Ozone is a type of gas that is created through smog air pollution. Smog is developed from chemical reactions formed by smokestacks or tailpipes from a car. When an infant inhales ozone, his lungs will be attacked by the gas. This can cause bronchiolitis, or inflammation of the lungs. Ozone can also cause the development of wheezing and coughing in infants.

Infant Death

• Breathing in contaminants could harm an infant's respiratory system.

  There is a link between the inhalation of air pollution and infant death. An article published by UCLA, " Air Pollution Impacts on Infants and Children," notes that infants who live in areas of high air pollution contamination have an increased risk of infant mortality. Being exposed to carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide can put an infant's life at risk. The risk of death is higher in the first year of life.

Hospital Stays

• Infants exposed to air pollution require hospital stays.

  When an infant develops respiratory illnesses, he is more likely to require increased hospital stays. According to Clean Air Plus, babies that had a higher exposure to air pollution had up to a 10 percent chance of being hospitalized with bronchiolitis within their first year of life.

Other Considerations

• Pollution can harm a fetus, which will later impact the infant.

  Inhalation of air pollutants during a mother's pregnancy can have an undesirable effect on the fetus's development. This can later have an impact on the infant. An infant can be born with low birth weight, can be born prematurely, or develop heart defects which will require long-term treatment. Fetal impairment, such as damage to the brain, can also be the result of inhaling air pollutants during a pregnancy.