Mothers-to-be fear for their unborn in smog-choked Delhi

Heavily pregnant Rachel Gokavi spends most days shut away in her New Delhi home, desperate to shield her unborn child from the toxic air blamed for soaring miscarriage rates and infant deaths.

At a recent pre-natal class in the Indian capital, Gokavi and other expectant mothers shared their feelings of helplessness and anger at having to breathe poisonous air day in and out.

"I always keep the balcony door closed and don't go out as much. I fear there could be breathing issues when the baby is born," Gokavi, 26, told AFP.

Like Gokavi, other anxious mothers-to-be listened to tips and tricks on coping with the smog that is so bad that Delhi's chief minister recently likened the city to a "gas chamber".

"Don't go out for morning walks. Try and go in the afternoon when the sun is out," was all the instructor could advise the women, who listened intently with furrowed brows.

With no respite from the pollution in sight, doctors too have little choice but just to recommend face masks and expensive air purifiers at home -- if they can afford them, which many cannot.

India is home to 14 of the world's 15 most polluted cities, according to the World Health Organization.

Every winter smoke from farmers' fires combine with industrial and vehicle emissions to turn towns and cities across northern India into smog-blanketed hellholes.

This toxic cocktail cuts short the lives of one million people in India every year, according to government research published in June.

The same report blamed air pollution for killing more than 100,000 under-fives every year.

Doctors say kids breathe the noxious air twice as fast as adults because of their smaller lungs, causing respiratory problems and even impairing brain development.

There is evidence to suggest that adolescents exposed to higher levels of air pollution are more likely to experience mental health problems, UNICEF said this week.

(AFP)