Of course not all birth defects can be prevented but, there are things that women can do before and during pregnancy to increase their chances of having healthy babies. Which include Planning ahead; taking prenatal vitamins, regular visits to a healthcare provider, Avoiding harmful substances; alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana and other street drugs, and overall choosing a healthy lifestyle. The main question being asked in preventing birth defects due to air pollutants is, what can be done to make air safer and cleaner in reference to reproductive and children’s health. At this point in time air pollutants impact on pregnant women and infants is not being taken into consideration in setting environmental standards on a state and federal level. Being that infants and young children are the most vulnerable population to air pollutants, taking these impacts into consideration would help to greatly strengthen air quality controls. To achieve air clean enough to only have little to no effects on pregnancy, infants health would require dramatic changes to transportation systems, motor vehicle and industrial processes.
Until policies are put in place to achieve better air quality standard, the vulnerable populations will continue to suffer with birth defects and other illnesses. This is another reason that stresses the issue on birth defects here in the United States. Interventions are being put in place to help doctors and researchers have a better understanding of birth defects and how they are caused, can be prevented and