Use air filters during pregnancy

One of the most overlooked methods we have of reducing toxic exposures during pregnancy is the use of an effective air filters. In researching Raising Healthy Kids: How to Protect Your Children from the Hidden Chemical Toxins in Our Everyday Lives, the studies I reviewed made it clear that a mother’s exposure to air pollution impacts her fetus.

Much of our best research comes from the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences in Ulaanbaatar. The Ulaanbaatar Gestation and Air Pollution Research (UGAAR) study is a randomized controlled trial that assigned 540 nonsmoking pregnant women (268 intervention and 272 control) to receive portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter air cleaners or no air cleaners. The air cleaners were used from around eleven weeks until the end of pregnancy. The primary outcome measure was full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) when kids were four-years old. The mean FSIQ of children who were randomly assigned to the intervention group was almost three points higher.

HEPA units are widely available online and there are models that can fit almost any budget. The biggest benefits come from the most polluted areas. If you live near a highway or other traffic or by any kinds of toxic waste or industrial plants, whether operating or historic, you should definitely consider home air filtration.

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