9/11 Dust Cloud May Have Caused Higher-Than-Normal Negative Birth Outcomes

There may be lingering health impacts for pregnant women who were living near the World Trade Center during 9/11. Researchers have found that these mothers experienced higher-than-normal negative birth outcomes after the event.

The collapse of the two towers created a zone of negative pressure that pushed dust and debris into the avenues surrounding the site of the tragedy. This dust cloud that was created has been associated with adverse health impacts to both the adult community and emergency workers.

"Previous research into the health impacts of in utero exposure to the 9/11 dust cloud on birth outcomes has shown little evidence of consistent effects," said Janet Currie, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Our work suggests a simple resolution of this puzzle, which is that the women who lived in neighborhoods exposed to the 9/11 dust cloud had very different experiences than women in other parts of the city."

The researchers examined data on all births that were in utero on Sept. 11, 2001 in New York City and compared those babies to their siblings. In the end, the researchers found that mothers in their first trimester during 9/11 had twice the chance of delivering a baby prematurely. Of the babies born, boys were more likely to have birth complications and low birth weights. Not only that, but they were more likely to be admitted to the NICU.

The findings reveal that the 9/11 dust cloud had far more lasting impacts than was previously realized. It also highlights the neighborhoods most affected by the dust cloud, which include Lower Manhattan, Battery Park City, SoHo, TriBeCa, Civic Center, Little Italy, Chinatown and the Lower East Side.

The findings are published in the journal NBER.