Skip to main content
. 2011 Nov 2;11:87. doi: 10.1186/1471-2393-11-87

Table 5.

Maternal exposure to background pollutants and BETX

Total study sample Non-smoking mothers with BETX assessment
Mean ± SD (μg/m3) NO2 PM10 Benzene Toluene Ethylbenzene Xylenes*


Window of exposure time n = 370 n = 56


Before pregnancy
 3 months bf 27.6 ± 13.0 22.0 ± 6.7
During pregnancy
 1st trimester 28.2 ± 12.7 21.8 ± 5.8
 2nd trimester 28.2 ± 11.3 21.8 ± 5.2 3.3 ± 2.0 41.5 ± 16.5 5.1 ± 2.0 23.3 ± 8.7
 3rd trimester 26.7 ± 12.1 21.9 ± 6.4

* Sum of o-xylene, m-xylene and p-xylene. SD, standard deviation; bf, before; BETX, benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylenes.