Nigerian Women Using Firewood Risk Having Children With Lower IQ – Experts

Experts have warned that Nigerian women who cook with firewood and other traditional fuels may be exposing their unborn children to serious health risks, including impaired cognitive development and lower intelligence quotient (IQ).

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics’ 2024 Nigeria Residential Energy Demand-Side Survey show that about 67.8 per cent of Nigerians rely on firewood for cooking, either for household, agricultural, commercial, cultural, or religious purposes. Bauchi State recorded the highest usage at 91 per cent, followed by Sokoto State at 77.8 per cent, while Oyo State had the lowest at 48 per cent.

Health professionals say prolonged exposure to smoke from firewood and kerosene cooking is linked to a range of health conditions, including pneumonia, lung cancer, low birth weight, visual impairment, and developmental delays in children.

Speaking at the Household Air Pollution and Cognition (HAPCOG) stakeholders’ meeting, a consultant psychiatrist, Dr Yetunde Adeniyi, revealed that findings from a long-term study showed that children whose mothers cooked with firewood or kerosene during pregnancy experienced noticeable developmental delays when compared with children whose mothers used cleaner fuels such as ethanol.

According to Adeniyi, the research tracked children born between 2015 and 2016 and followed their growth for several years, assessing their intelligence, behaviour, and adaptive skills when they reached the age of seven.

“The results showed that children from households using firewood and kerosene had lower IQ scores and more developmental challenges than those from homes that used cleaner fuels,” she said.

The event, which marked the final phase of nearly 20 years of research, was organised by the Centre for Population and Reproductive Health (CPRH) and the Healthy Life for All Foundation, in partnership with the University of Chicago.

Also speaking, a professor of medicine at the Pritzker School of Medicine, Prof. Sola Olopade, explained that unborn babies exposed to household air pollution often develop in low-oxygen environments, which affects brain development.

“When pregnant women inhale polluted air, the body’s natural defence mechanisms can become overwhelmed, especially where nutrition is poor. This leads to inflammation and increased blood clotting, which is particularly dangerous for organs supplied by small blood vessels such as the brain and placenta,” Olopade said.

He explained that damage to the placenta restricts oxygen and nutrient supply to the unborn child, forcing the baby to develop under stress.

However, Olopade cautioned that the findings should not be interpreted to mean that earlier generations were less intelligent, noting that pollution suppresses human potential rather than erasing intelligence.

“Many people who excelled despite such exposure might have done even better in cleaner environments,” he said.

The Director of CPRH, University of Ibadan, Prof. Dosu Ojengbede, said access to clean cooking fuels significantly improves maternal and child health outcomes, including reduced blood pressure, fewer miscarriages and stillbirths, and higher chances of carrying pregnancies to full term.

He added that exposure to pollutants during pregnancy could continue to affect newborns even after birth.

The experts called on policymakers, community leaders, health professionals, and other stakeholders to intensify efforts toward promoting clean cooking energy, including liquefied petroleum gas, solar energy, and other safer alternatives.