Survey on Exposure of Pregnant Women and Newborns to Hazardous Environmental Pollutants in the Greater Buenos Aires

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The human fetus and the child in the first years of life are particularly vulnerable to exposure to environmental contaminants. The World Health Organization considers that children and mothers’ environmental health is one of the major health care challenges of the twenty-first century and promotes strategies to prevent, disseminate and solve the problems. OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency of exposure to environmental agents that pose a risk to the health of the fetus and the newborn, considering pregnancies of women assisted in the Department of Obstetrics of the Hospital Prof. A. Posadas. METHODS: An observational descriptive cross-sectional study was performed, including a survey administered by specially trained professionals. RESULTS: A total of 748 surveys were conducted to 165 pregnant and 583 postpartum women. They collected information about percentage of precarious housing, flood-prone areas, access to public water system, to sewerage system and to natural gas network, waste management, occupational activity, exposure to tobacco smoke and second-hand smoke, exposure to lead and pesticides, use of gas appliances, vicinity to factories, high-traffic streets or highways, garbage dumps and cemeteries, particulate matter in the surroundings and unpleasant odors related to the burning of garbage and the vicinity to industries. CONCLUSIONS: The detection of exposure to environmental risks may be useful to promote timely interventions for prevention, identification and/or referral.