(Qin 1)

The New York Times reported on a study published in the Nature Sustainability journal, in their article “Air Pollution Is Linked to Miscarriages in China, Study Finds” by Amy Qin. The study assessed the exposure to air pollution at work and home that 255,668 pregnant women endured (Qin 1). Of that sample, 6.8% of the women experienced a silent miscarraige, that the researchers linked to the increased risk of this event to air pollution (Qin 1). In the article they articulate that this is only a link, and correlation doesn’t mean causation (Qin 1).   

This news article relates to two issue areas that we have discussed in class, air pollution and population. The ecological footprint activity quantified our individual effects on the environment, effects including air pollution. Some specific individual actions that increase air pollution is our consumerism, use of cars, trips on planes, and waste. In the article they used these sorts of factors to evaluate the amount of air pollution pregnant women are exposed to. Additionally the article addresses how miscarriages are leading to a population decrease in China. In contrast, other countries population is increasing exponentially and having a very negative impact on the environment. 

This is a new issue and link that has been discovered, and hope they continue to research this issue concerning maternal health because it a sort of environmental sexism. Talking about this issue will also allow for the topic of miscarriages increase, which is very important as maternal health is not discussed enough.

Qin, Amy. “Air Pollution Is Linked to Miscarriages in China, Study Finds.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Oct. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/14/world/asia/china-air-pollution-miscarriages-study.html.