Vertical alignment of ::after pseudo elements

When I place svg image next to text, with vertical-align: middle;, then it aligns pretty nicely. However, if I use svg in the ::after pseudo-element, then the results are not as expected.

Furthermore, when I click on text to remove its content, then remaining svg element still keeps its unaligned position:

Here is the code:

document.getElementById('em1').addEventListener('click', e => {
  (e.target || e.srcElement).innerText = '';
});
document.getElementById('em2').addEventListener('click', e => {
  (e.target || e.srcElement).innerText = '';
});
document.getElementById('em3').addEventListener('click', e => {
  (e.target || e.srcElement).innerText = '';
});

* {
  vertical-align: middle;
}
div {
  background-color: yellow;
}
em {
  background-color: pink;
  cursor: pointer;
  font-size: 41px;
}
#em2::after, #em3::after {
  content: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20width%3D%22110%22%20height%3D%2246%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20110%2046%22%20version%3D%221.1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Cpath%20style%3D%22fill%3A%23f00%3Bstroke-width%3A0%22%20d%3D%22M%200%2C0%20H%20110%20V%2046%20H%200%20Z%22%20%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E");
}
#em3::after {
  vertical-align: middle;
}

<div>
  <em id="em1">text #1</em><svg width="110" height="46" viewBox="0 0 110 46"
    version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path 
    style="fill:#f00;stroke-width:0" d="M 0,0 H 110 V 46 H 0 Z" /></svg>
</div>
<hr>
<div>
  <em id="em2">text #2</em>
</div>
<hr>
<div>
  <em id="em3">text #3</em>
</div>

How to make this work, what has to be adjusted, and why? Why are not ⁣::after pseudo-elements aligned automatically with their “parents”?

Answer

It can be solved giving vertical-align: text-bottom; height: 46px; display: inline-block; to the after pseudo-elements:

document.getElementById('em1').addEventListener('click', e => {
  (e.target || e.srcElement).innerText = '';
});
document.getElementById('em2').addEventListener('click', e => {
  (e.target || e.srcElement).innerText = '';
});
document.getElementById('em3').addEventListener('click', e => {
  (e.target || e.srcElement).innerText = '';
});

* {
  vertical-align: middle;
}
div {
  background-color: yellow;
}
em {
  background-color: pink;
  cursor: pointer;
  font-size: 41px;
}
#em2::after, #em3::after {
  content: url(data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20width%3D%22110%22%20height%3D%2246%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20110%2046%22%20version%3D%221.1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Cpath%20style%3D%22fill%3A%23f00%3Bstroke-width%3A0%22%20d%3D%22M%200%2C0%20H%20110%20V%2046%20H%200%20Z%22%20%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E);
  vertical-align: text-bottom;
  height: 46px;
  display: inline-block;
}

<div>
  <em id="em1">text #1</em><svg width="110" height="46" viewBox="0 0 110 46"
    version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path 
    style="fill:#f00;stroke-width:0" d="M 0,0 H 110 V 46 H 0 Z" /></svg>
</div>
<hr>
<div>
  <em id="em2">text #2</em>
</div>
<hr>
<div>
  <em id="em3">text #3</em>
</div>