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A new study has found that exposure to wildfire smoke may be associated with thousands of additional premature births.

on a sheet of paper Published this month in Environmental StudiesA research team at Stanford University estimated that there were approximately 7,000 extra preterm births associated with wildfire smoke exposure in California between 2007 and 2012, or about 4 percent of all preterm births in those years.

“We knew that air pollution increases the risk of preterm birth, but this new study highlights the importance of pollutants associated with wildfire smoke, which may differ from other sources of air pollution and are becoming more of a problem with climate change,” she said. Lara Cushing, an environmental health scientist at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, who was not involved in the research.

Wildfire smoke contains a high level of the smallest, most dangerous type of soot. Exposure to these particles, known as PM 2.5, is believed to cause inflammation in the body, strain the immune system, and reduce blood flow to organs, including the placenta, which can trigger contractions and labor.

Premature births, or births occurring between 20 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, are associated with a range of developmental delays, respiratory, vision, and hearing problems and can contribute to chronic illness into adulthood. They make up 10 percent of all births in the United States and are one of the leading causes of infant mortality.

Researchers found that one week of exposure increased the risk of preterm birth by 3 percent. In 2008, the worst smoke year in their study period, researchers found that exposure to wildfire smoke was associated with more than 6 percent of all preterm births in California.

Forest fires have intensified since then. “2020 was about two and a half times worse than 2008. And four of the last five years have had worse smoke than 2008,” said Sam Heft-Neal, a research associate at Stanford University’s Center for Food Safety and Environment. lead author of the study.

The findings build on a well-established link between air pollution and adverse fetal health outcomes.

To arrive at their conclusions, the researchers used satellite data of smoke clouds to determine the locations and days affected by wildfires. They matched these readings with ground-level PM 2.5 data and California birth records.

Wildfire smoke can contribute up to half of PM 2.5 in parts of the western United States. It is not yet clear whether wildfire smoke is more or less toxic than particulate matter from diesel combustion or power plants.

Rupa Basu, chief of weather and climate epidemiology at the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, said in addition to considering the effects of wildfire exposure on infant health, the effects on mothers should also be considered.

Investigating the effects of climate change and the environment on pregnant women, and stating that premature births may occur faster and spontaneously than expected, Dr. “There are mental health issues along with the stress of having a premature baby,” Basu said. contributes to the potential for trauma.