Dr Meenal Kumar The inhalation of outdoor and indoor air pollutants has been found to be a major concern for the health of the unborn, newborn, young children and their mothers. The women who live in the regions with high carbon monoxide or fine-particle levels caused by vehicle traffic are 10 to 25 per cent more likely to have a pre-term baby than those who live in less polluted areas. This is especially true for women who breathe polluted air during the first trimester or during the last months and weeks of pregnancy. There is an association between maternal inhalation of air pollutants and adverse birth outcomes, including an increased risk of pre-term delivery, intrauterine growth retardation, small head circumference, low birth weight, and an increased rate of malformations. Pre-term births are associated with significantly increased risks of neonatal death and illness compared with term births, a recent study indicates. Numerous toxic agents have been detected in umbilical cord blood samples, a finding potentially significant because tissues, organs and genetic material of the unborn and the young are particularly susceptible to biologic insult. Nonsmoking pregnant women exposed to environmental tobacco smoke have an increased risk of delivering a low weight infant. Children endure greater risk of excessive tissue damage because of their underdeveloped immune systems. Birth weight is a major predictor of later health. For example, normal-weight babies have been shown to have higher IQs in childhood and lower risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. A common environmental risk factor is exposure to indoor cook smoke (i.e., the combustion contaminants generated from fuels during the cooking of foods and other indoor activities requiring fire). An estimated 90 per cent of rural households in India use biomass fuels as their primary source of energy. These fuels are plant based in origin; examples include animal dung, crop residues, wood, and charcoal. The pollutants emanating from these burning fuels present risks to human health. A partial list includes airborne particulate matter, poly-nuclear aromatics, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and oxides of nitrogen and sulfur. Even humble tea can cause problems to the foetus. The reason is that caffeine in your cup of tea/coffee crosses through the placenta to the foetus, but is difficult for the foetus to metabolize because of the under-developed metabolic system. Caffeine may also influence cell development and decrease placental blood flow, which may lead to an adverse effect on foetal development.