The “Impact of Air Pollution on Pregnancy and Early Life” workshop took place at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, in November 2025. The event brought together stakeholders from academia, healthcare, local authorities, charities, policy and the Clean Air Champions. The morning session featured presentations from subject experts on the detrimental effects of air pollution from conception through early childhood. It was inspiring to hear the excellent work underway to address this health challenge, including notable progress from the Wave 2 Clean Air Initiative RESPIRE Consortium.

Representatives from the Royal Colleges (RCP, RCOG, RCPCH) shared their perspectives, including a summary of the RCP’s “Breath of Fresh Air” report delivered by Professor Sir Stephen Holgate. In the afternoon, breakout groups enabled discussion around key research challenges, with a particular focus on mitigation strategies and future research priorities.

The afternoon concluded with an outstanding keynote from Professor Pia Hardelid (UCL), who presented exciting findings from the PICNIC and Kids’ Environment & Health Cohort studies, along with an introduction to the new CHILI hub.

Key themes emerging from the day included the urgency of addressing this health challenge and the need for clear, consistent communication with communities, ideally through a dedicated national public health campaign.