Melbourne, April 04: A new research has suggested that women who live near freeways and highways are more likely to give birth prematurely.

The link between the concentration of major road routes around a woman''s home and early birth is revealed in a study of 970 mothers and their newborn babies in Logan City, south of Brisbane.

The more freeways and highways around a pregnant woman''s home, the higher the likelihood of an early delivery, said Associate Professor Adrian Barnett, from the Queensland University of Technology''s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation.

"The most striking result was the reduction in gestation time of 4.4 per cent - or almost two weeks - associated with an increase in freeways within 400 metres of the women''s home," News. com. au quoted him as saying.

"Vehicles braking and starting means that road junctions have some of the highest levels of noise and air pollution," he said.

"Disturbed sleep during pregnancy may cause extra stress and be a risk factor for adverse birth outcomes.

"This study points to the fact that pregnant women should reduce their exposure to traffic. A reduction in traffic emissions through improved vehicles or increased public transport use would have immediate health benefits by giving children a better start to life,” he added. (ANI)