Babies' brains damaged by pollution, Unicef says

Babies' brains damaged by pollution, Unicef says

Seventeen million babies under the age of one are breathing toxic air, putting their brain development at risk, the UN children's agency has warned.

Babies in South Asia were worst affected, with more than 12 million living in areas with pollution six times higher than safe levels.

A further four million were at risk in East Asia and the Pacific.

Unicef said breathing particulate air pollution could damage brain tissue and undermine cognitive development.

Its report said there was a link to "verbal and non-verbal IQ and memory, reduced test scores, grade point averages among schoolchildren, as well as other neurological behavioural problems".

The effects lasted a lifetime, it said.

Delhi's air pollution is triggering a health crisis

"As more and more of the world urbanises, and without adequate protection and pollution reduction measures, more children will be at risk in the years to come," Unicef said.

It called for wider use of face masks and air filtering systems, and for children not to travel during spikes in pollution.

Media captionSmog reduced visibility in Delhi to a few metres

Last month hazardous smog began blanketing the Indian capital Delhi, prompting the Indian capital's chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to say the city had become a "gas chamber".

Some schools in the city were closed but there was criticism when they re-opened, with parents accusing the authorities of disregarding their children's health.

Indian and Sri Lankan cricketers playing in Delhi vomited on the pitch during high levels of pollution.

Media captionChina's Shijiazhuang "can be completely dark", one man said

In northern China, air pollution is estimated to cut life expectancy by about three years and the government has imposed tougher emissions rules on companies, although state media have reported that these are routinely flouted.

'Young and old' hit by China smog

Satellite imagery used to compile the data also revealed that the issue was growing in African cities, Unicef said.

Meanwhile a separate study by scientists at hospitals in London found that the British city's polluted air was leading to lower birth weights, linked to higher infant mortality and disease later in life.

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Trouble mounts for Max Hospital: Delhi police sends notice after newborn declared dead found alive

In fresh trouble for Max Hospital, the Delhi Police on Sunday sent a notice to the administration after the hospital in a case of medical negligence. The hospital declared a baby dead along with his stillborn twin, but was found to be alive later, according to reports.

NDTVreported that the police has asked the private hospital to be available for questioning over the issue and has also asked for detailed information of the incident.

The police has also inquired about the duty schedule of the doctors and the rest of the staff on the day of the incident, according to ANI.

Meanwhile, the hospital authorities told ANI that the expert group set up to investigate the matter will likely conclude the probe by Monday.

This comes a day after Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain said that strict action will be taken against the city-based private hospital and if required its licence would be canceled.

Representational image. News18Representational image. News18

"When we came to know about negligence on the part of the hospital we ordered an inquiry into the same. And I want to assure all that if they don't work properly, we will cancel the licence of the hospital," Jain told IANS.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also promised strict action against the hospital and ordered an inquiry into the "criminal negligence"

The incident happened on Thursday when the hospital declared a baby dead along with his still-born twin. The parents were however, shocked when they found one of the twins moving. "We tore the packet, there were two-three clothes and polythene bags. The kid was still breathing. We rushed the baby to a nearby nursing home in Pitampura," the father told reporters.

Max Hospital in a statement on Friday said, "It has been brought to our attention that a premature (22 weeks) newborn baby who is reported to be on life support at a nursing home was unfortunately handed over without any sign of life by Max Hospital Shalimar Bagh."

"This baby was one of the twins delivered on 30 November morning. The other baby was stillborn. We are shaken and concerned at this rare incident," it said.