Owoseni et al. European Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Research www.ejpmr.com 120 THE EFFECT OF NOISE POLLUTION ON PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA Owoseni Joseph Sina* 1 , Ibikunle Michael Ayodele 2 and Ijabadeniyi Olasupo Augustine 2 1 Department of Sociology, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. 2 Department of Social Justice, College of Social and Management Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Article Received on 11/06/2017 Article Revised on 02/07/2017 Article Accepted on 23/07/2017 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Noise is one of the physical environmental factors affecting our health in today’s world. Noise is generally defined as the unpleasant sounds which disturb the human being physically and physiologically and cause environmental pollution by destroying environmental properties. A majority of women of child-bearing age in the industrialized part of the world are occupationally active today. According to Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (2014) about 73.7% of women of working age were employed. This leads to a high number of pregnancies potentially exposed to various occupational hazards. In Sweden, 15% of employed women report exposure to noise during at least ¼ of the working day, so loud that they could not have a normal conversation (Arbetsmiljöverket - the Swedish Work Environment Authority, 2012). Noise is ubiquitous in our environment. High intensities of noise have been associated with numerous health effects in adults, including noise-induced hearing loss and high blood pressure. Noise is undesirable sound. The loudness of sound is measured in decibels (dB), a logarithmic scale. Many pregnant women are exposed to noise in the workplace which may damage fetuses and newborns. Reducing noise levels can improve the physiologic stability of sick neonates and therefore enlarge the potential for infant brain development. The human cochlea and peripheral sensory end organs complete their normal development by 24 weeks of gestation. The hearing threshold (the intensity at which one perceives sound) at 27 to 29 weeks of gestation is approximately 40 dB and decreases to a nearly adult level of 13.5 dB by 42 weeks of gestation, indicating continuing postnatal maturation of these pathways. Thus, exposure of the foetus and newborn to noise occurs during the normal development and maturation of the sense of hearing. Sound is well transmitted into the uterine environment. One to 4 seconds of 100 to 130 dB of 1220- to 15 000- Hz sound is used as a stimulus to document the well- being of the foetus. In one study, 12 children with high- frequency hearing loss tested at 4 to 10 years of age were more likely to have been born to women who were exposed consistently to occupational noise in the range of 85 to 95 dB during pregnancy (Yao, Jakobsson, Nyman, Rabaeus, Till and Westgren, 2000). SJIF Impact Factor 4.161 Review Article ISSN 2394-3211 EJPMR EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND MEDICAL RESEARCH www.ejpmr.com ejpmr, 2017,4(8), 120-126 ABSTRACT Noise is ubiquitous in our environment. High intensities of noise have been associated with numerous health effects in adults, including noise-induced hearing loss and high blood pressure. Exposure to high levels of noise can have beneficial harmful effects on the pregnant woman, developing fetus and preterm infant. Therefore, this study assessed the effect of noise pollution on physical and mental health of pregnant women in Ekiti State, Nigeria. One hundred pregnant women and health workers were interviewed on the effect of noise pollution on physical and mental health of pregnant women. Findings showed that knowledge on the causes, effect and prevention of noise in pregnant women was acceptable among the respondents. Thirty four (34%) of the respondents agreed that elevated workplace or environmental noise can cause hearing impairment. Conclusively, despite reasonable knowledge on excessive noise and its effect on pregnant women and the foetus, there is a need to improve availability of information. Policy makers should enforce policies that make the manufacturers of equipment to reduce their noise output. KEYWORD: Pollution, Noise, Mental Health, Pregnancy, Ekiti, Nigeria. *Corresponding Author: Owoseni Joseph Sina Department of Sociology, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.