AThe number of intense heat days continues to rise due to climate change, and high temperatures are related to our health – the feeding heat has been linked to a set of health problems, including a hot blow, dehydration, and respiratory problems. But some people are at greater risk than others: the warmer days of pregnant people more risk to health complications.
one Central Climate Analysis It was published on May 14 that the intense heat caused by climate change poses serious risks to the health of the mother and the results of birth. Between 2020 to 2024, the average number of pregnancy days at risk-knowledge was the days when the maximum temperatures are warmer than 95 % of the temperatures that were observed in a specific location-in 222 countries. The largest increase in the first days of thermal danger occurred in developing areas with limited access to health care, including the Caribbean Sea region, parts of Central and South America, and sub -Saharan Africa.
“Pregnant women and their fetuses are more likely to change in climate -related changes, especially around heat and intense heat,” says Shaothy Mahalngia, Associate Professor in Environmental, West and Women’s Health at Harvard Chan College of Public Health. Mahalingaih adds that when it comes to intense heat, a pregnant person may not be able to organize temperatures in the same way that there is no person. “This is because a pregnant woman’s body is already undergoing extensive changes to accommodate fetus support, and it is difficult to organize the fetus environment and cool it in particular to a healthy scope.”
Anna Bonel, an auxiliary professor at London College of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says that this severe heat exposes pregnant mothers to a greater risk of developing high -risk conditions such as pre -pre -pre -and diabetes.
It also affects the development of fetuses. “The fetus does not have its own ability to organize its temperature, and we know that [much of] Mahalingaih says, the development of fetus members is sensitive to temperature.
“We also know very clearly that you have a growing risk of prenatal childbirth, and still birth, smaller children, as well as birth defects [when exposed to extreme heat]Bonel says. One study 2024 published by the magazine Jama open network I found that premature and early early birth rates increased when local temperatures were abnormally hot for more than four consecutive days. Golds before the period may have extensive health effects of the child. “The child born before the period of increased risk of death, and he suffers from an increased risk of multiple hospitalization and continuous diseases,” Bonel added.
Severe heat is also Impact on effectiveness One of the contraceptive and pregnancy tests – items that can be easily damaged due to high temperatures, which makes them ineffective. one analysis Among MSI reproductive options, I found that since 2011, an estimated 11.5 million women have been disrupted in 26 countries that have reached birth control due to the climate displacement.
Although climate change affects everyone, the health risks are greater among marginalized societies. “The low income of the population [who have] However Wu, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University, says that access to health care will be in a natural, natural situation for all things.
Other climate pressures are also linked to climate complications. Air pollution is found to increase the possibility of high blood pressure during pregnancy, low birth weight, premature birth, negative effects on the fetus’ brain and lung development, according to L. Global Health Organization. And the study of 2020 was published in International environment I found that severe storms, such as hurricanes and hurricanes, could lead to premature births, due to factors such as increased stress, environmental pollution and disrupting health services.
The impact of the harsh weather on access to care can have a set of consequences. December 2023 report published xdiAnd an organization that relies on data that determines climate risk found that a person’s climate change has increased the risk of hospital damage by 41 %-experts note that disorders can have ripples. “In New York City, for example, Hurricane Sandy led to the consequences when it comes to [ability to provide] Wu says: “These harsh weather events have consequences for caregivers, which I think are not appreciated and may have their grade and may be missing.”
However, all experts stress that more work must be done to understand the way our changing climate affects pregnancy and the development of the fetus. “It is extremely important to think about the source and the match in the reproductive life cycle of pregnant people,” says Mahalingaih. “We have a lot of work that must be done to really understand everything.”
