Babies in prams are exposed to up to 60 per cent more air pollution than their parents, new research suggests, putting them at greater risk of brain damage.
But there's one simple things all mums can do to protect their little one – cover up their pram.
Experts from the University of Surrey tested the inside of 160 prams and found alarming levels of air pollution inside, as they are closer to the exhausts of cars than people who are walking.
Breathing in too much polluted air can cause potential damage to their frontal lobe and impact on their cognitive abilities and brain development, researchers warned.
Professor Prashant Kumar, of the Global Centre for Clean Air Research, said: “We know that infants breathe in higher amounts of airborne particles relative to their lung size and body weight compared to adults.
"What we have proven here is that the height most children travel at while in a pram doubles the likelihood of negative impacts from air pollution when compared to an adult.
"When you also consider how vulnerable they are because of their tissues, immune systems, and brain development at this early stage of their life, it is extremely worrying that they are being exposed to these dangerous levels of pollution."
It's not the first time experts from the university have warned about the dangers of air pollution for children in prams.
Last year they placed detectors in prams on 64 journeys to and from schools in Guildford, Surrey.
They found emissions peaked in the morning, with infants exposed to 47 per cent more pollutants compared to the afternoon.
Dr Prashant Kumar, lead researcher, said at the time: "Previous research has shown that young children are far more susceptible to pollution than adults, due to their immature and developing systems and lower body weight.
"These findings provide an insight for families who walk to and from nursery/primary schools with young children.
"Essentially, children could be at risk of breathing in some nasty and harmful chemical species such as iron, aluminium and silica that form together the particles of various size ranges.
"One of the simplest ways to combat this is to use a barrier between the in-pram children and the exhaust emissions, especially at pollution hot spots such as traffic intersections, so parents could use pram covers if at all possible.
"We are also working closely with our industrial partners to develop innovative methods to clean the air around the children in their in-pram microenvironments."
A recent World Health Organization report found that 570,000 children under the age of five die every year from respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution, and second-hand smoke.
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