#FetalBrain

A new international study indicates that prenatal exposure to common urban air pollutants could subtly influence fetal brain development during key stages of pregnancy. Published in The Lancet Planetary Health, the research urges stronger public health measures to reduce pollution exposure for pregnant people, with relevance for densely populated cities like Bangkok. Data from the Barcelona Life Study Cohort (BiSC) informed the findings, which examined pollutants such as NO₂, PM2.5, and black carbon using advanced ultrasound imaging in more than 750 mother–fetus pairs.

A groundbreaking international study has revealed that prenatal exposure to everyday urban air pollution may subtly alter fetal brain structures during critical phases of gestation. Published this week in The Lancet Planetary Health, the study adds urgency to public health calls for intensified efforts to reduce pollution exposure among pregnant individuals, highlighting both invisible threats to future generations and significant implications for densely populated cities like Bangkok (neurosciencenews.com).

The research, conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) in partnership with several major university hospitals, offers the most detailed portrait yet of how common pollutants — such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and black carbon — are associated with measurable, if subtle, changes in fetal brain morphology. By using advanced ultrasound imaging on over 750 mother-fetus pairs, scientists tracked variations in brain structure during the second and third trimesters, a window long recognized by neuroscientists as vital to brain development.