This study was aimed at assessing the relationship between toxic air and respiratory indices among healthy pregnant women exposed to gas flares in Bayelsa State Nigeria. Out of the three hundred subject participants, two hundred were pregnant and one hundred non-pregnant subjects met the inclusion criteria. The respiratory indices were obtained from both subjects group and analysed using statistical packaging for social sciences version 20.0.Findings from the study indicate that the more the duration of exposure to toxic gas flares in years the lower the respiratory functions of the residents living in the gas flaring communities in Bayelsa state. The respiratory function parameters were lower in the pregnant test group compared with the non-pregnant group. Due to significant increase in the percentage difference between subjects in their third trimester with the rest trimesters a drastic decrease and a negative sign of above -60 was observed in figure 1. The prevalence of low and normal respiratory indices in non-pregnant was (69.75%) and (30.25%) while that of the pregnant was (76.25%) and (23.76%).The percentage ratio of the force expiratory volume in one second of the pregnant subjects decreases progressively in relation to trimesters.
Keywords:Forcevital capacity, Age, Pregnancy, Lung, gas flares, Trimesters, Duration, exposure.