Other content tagged: heatwaves
What impact does climate change have on perinatal mortality? – The link between high temperatures and the risk of stillbirth
Extreme heat can affect both pregnant women and their foetuses. The effects can be indirect to the mother’s environment or directly to the child. Indirect influences include reduced responsiveness and quality of healthcare systems. Direct effects on the child are placental and epigenetic changes. However, especially from areas most affected by climate change and subsequent heat waves, such as sub-Saharan Africa, only very limited data is available. A new study examined over 138,000…
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Heatwave-related preterm births (PTBs) linked to human capital losses in China
A recent study in China combined health impact and economic assessment methods to evaluate heatwave-related PTBs burden in dimensions of health, human capital and economic costs. Simulated scenarios showed that about a quarter (25.8%) of heatwave-related PTBs per year on average can be attributed to climate change, which in turn results in human capital losses of estimated $1 billion costs. These findings emphasize once again strict climate mitigation policies and are a strong call…
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Extreme heat exposure as an increased risk for preterm birth and stillbirth – results from two studies
Climate change causes more frequent and extreme heatwaves, resulting in higher temperatures around the world. Several studies have found that extreme heat in pregnancy may lead to adverse birth outcomes. For this purpose, two studies in different settings (one in the United States and one in lower- to middle-income countries) have addressed this issue. Both studies found, that exposure to extreme heat waves is associated with adverse birth outcomes, such as preterm birth. Extreme weather…
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