Pollution is the burning problem of the society. Especially when pregnant women are exposed to pollution it has an adverse effect on the foetus and the newborn baby. 

A study conducted by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, has revealed that foetuses of women in their third trimester who are exposed to pollution have a larger chance of being shorter according to their age.

 The study, of at least 200,000 children born between February 2010 and December 2015, noted the highest decline in height in children born between November and January when the pollution levels in the country were at the peak.

It has been found that exposure to the nitrogen level leads to smaller head size. The study, which was published in the journal, Environmental Health, found that there was a decrease of 0.05 in the height-for-age with an increase of 100 μ g/m3 in the ambient PM2.5 levels during the birth month.  

The study used by population data from the Demographic and Health Survey 2015-16 have compared to satellite-based district level PM 2.5 concentrations during the birth month of the children.

  
Thirty million birth every year are affected as a result of ambient air pollution experienced all over the country. Due to this, a 5year old girl child would be 0.24 cm shorter than average. 

The study also adds to the fact that the new generation is affected due to air pollution. In spite of the fact that taller mothers had taller children, a decrease in height has been observed due to air pollution.

Loss in height was observed both for children of rural and urban areas. Though there are some other factors which contribute to the decrease in height of children in rural areas the major problem is air pollution caused due to the use of solid fuels in the household. 

Stunting also is that lowers school performances and raised morbidity and mortality from non-communicable diseases like diabetes and hypertension is developed later in life.