New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANS): High decibel during pregnancy can lead to poor growth of the foetus while in the mother's womb, health experts said here Tuesday.

"Exposure to excessive noise during pregnancy may result in high frequency hearing loss in the newborn and may lead to intrauterine growth retardation. If not taken care of, it can also lead to birth of underweight babies," Rita Bakshi, gynaecologist and fertility expert, International Fertility Centre, said in a statement.

At least 60 percent of the four million neo-natal deaths that occur worldwide every year are associated with low birth weight.

She said the high intensity noise often leads to cochlear damage which is the most common cause of hearing loss.

Pooja Mehta, senior consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician at Gurgaon-based Paras Hospital, said: "An unborn baby's outer, inner and middle parts of the ear are well developed after 24 weeks' gestation and the baby can effectively transmit sounds to the brain for processing. However, the exposure to sounds over 90 to 100 decibels can raise your unborn baby's risk of hearing loss."

"It also can increase the chances of giving birth prematurely and of having a low birth weight baby," she added.

Vimal Grover, gynaecologist and obstetrician at Fortis Healthcare said: "If women do not take precautions and are exposed to high intensity noise, then there are chances there are pre-term deliveries and disruption in the normal growth and development of the premature infants."

"Further studies are still on to find what are the other ill-effects that high intensity noise can cause to pregnant women," he added in a statement.