Pregnancy: Air Pollution

(asked on 17th September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the research published in September 2018 by Queen Mary University of London showing that inhaled pollution particles reach the placenta.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 9th November 2020

Public Health England’s strategy for 2020-2025 highlights that poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to public health. The ambition is to make the case for critical action to address air pollution so that people in England enjoy cleaner air and healthier lives, especially those who are most vulnerable, such as pregnant women.

The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants has established a subgroup to consider the evidence on the effects of maternal exposure to ambient air pollution on adverse birth outcomes. A report is currently being prepared and it will include consideration of relevant and recent studies, including the research conducted by Queen Mary University of London showing that inhaled pollution particles reach the placenta.

Reticulating Splines