Extreme heat, preterm birth, and stillbirth: A global analysis across 14 lower-middle income countries

McElroy, Sara; Ilango, Sindana D.; Dimitrova, Anna; Gershunov, Alexander; Benmarhnia, Tarik

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2021.106902

Cited by 68 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…For instance, a review by Mora et al [105] reported that countries in tropical areas such as parts ofSouth America, Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Northern Australia would be more exposed to deadly heatwave conditions in the coming decades. Similarly, a global review conducted by McElroy et al [101] indicated increased risks of adverse birth outcomes across 14 low and middle-income countries in coming decades due to heat exposure. Corresponding to these findings, many of the countries in these areas have poor general health infrastructure and are also highly vulnerable to negative heat impacts, and research conducted in such settings is needed to provide useful insights to identify cost-effective strategies to mitigate the adverse pregnancy and birth effects of climate change.…”

Section: Gaps and Recommendations For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Gaps and Recommendations For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, recent findings indicate that pregnant women start experiencing an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes when exposed to temperatures greater than 20 • C [101]. As temperature rises further, pregnant women are more susceptible to adverse birth outcomes, and the risk is more prominent after 30 • C [101]. Studies have reported that pregnant women are susceptible to sharp, sudden fluctuations in temperature; for instance, a few studies examined acute effects of temperature variability (i.e., temperature differences between the maximum and minimum temperatures) on adverse maternal, foetal, and neonatal outcomes [8,32,53,93,[102][103][104].Among them, extreme temperature variability associated with elevated risk for PTB was the most common adverse birth outcome examined [32,93,102,104].…”

Section: Gaps and Recommendations For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Effect of Elevated Ambient Temperature on Maternal, Foetal, and Neonatal Outcomes: A Scoping Review

Dalugoda

Kuppa

Phung

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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This scoping review provides an overview of the published literature, identifies research gaps, and summarises the current evidence of the association between elevated ambient temperature exposure during pregnancy and adverse maternal, foetal, and neonatal outcomes. Following the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews reporting guidelines, a systematic search was conducted on CINAHL, PubMed, and Embase andincluded original articles published in the English language from 2015 to 2020 with no geographical limitations. A total of seventy-five studies were included, conducted across twenty-four countries, with a majority in the USA (n = 23) and China (n = 13). Study designs, temperature metrics, and exposure windows varied considerably across studies. Of the eighteenheat-associated adverse maternal, foetal, and neonatal outcomes identified, pre-term birth was the most common outcome (n = 30), followed by low birth weight (n = 11), stillbirth (n = 9), andgestational diabetes mellitus (n = 8). Overall, papers reported an increased risk with elevated temperature exposures. Less attention has been paid to relationships between heat and the diverse range of other adverse outcomes such as congenital anomalies and neonatal mortality. Further research on these less-reported outcomes is needed to improve understanding andthe effect size of these relationships with elevated temperatures, which we know will be exacerbated by climate change.

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Section: Gaps and Recommendations For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Gaps and Recommendations For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gaps and Recommendations For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effect of Elevated Ambient Temperature on Maternal, Foetal, and Neonatal Outcomes: A Scoping Review

Dalugoda

Kuppa

Phung

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…It is possible that we observe decrease in very low birthweight or only a small increase in other adverse outcomes in relation to extreme temperatures because those that would have otherwise been born with these adverse conditions select out of live birth. There is some evidence of increased stillbirths in relation to extreme temperatures (Asamoah et al, 2018;Chersich et al, 2020;Kanner et al, 2020;McElroy et al, 2022), and the possibility of observing positive associations between extreme temperatures and birth outcomes due to this potential culling effect has been discussed in other work (e.g., Chen et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Extreme temperatures during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes: Evidence from 2009 to 2018 U.S. national birth data

Cil

Kim

2022

Health Economics

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We provide the first estimates of the impacts of prenatal exposure to extreme temperatures on infant health at birth using the latest national birth data from 2009 to 2018 from all U.S. states. We consistently find that an additional day with mean temperature greater than 80°F or less than 10°F increases preterm births and low birthweight. Strikingly, the adverse effects are borne disproportionately by Black and Hispanic mothers, suggesting that the projected increase in extreme temperatures may further exacerbate the existing birth health disparities across different race/ethnicity groups. We also contribute by investigating the impact of deviations from the normal weather pattern, to identify the extreme weather events after accounting for the adaptation response. We find that prenatal exposure to extreme heat two standard deviations above county's historic average induces preterm births and NICU admissions, particularly for mothers whose pregnancies overlap with summer months. These results are timely and policy relevant, considering the recent weather trends with rising temperatures and frequent extreme weather events.

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“…Climate change is a growing threat to population health in Africa,1 2 with heatwaves increasing in severity and duration, especially in the Sahel 3. Maternal and neonatal health will be affected through the adverse effects of heat on preterm birth,4 5 stillbirth4 5 and maternal nutrition 6. Child wasting and malnutrition are expected to increase 2.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do high ambient temperatures affect infant feeding practices? A prospective cohort study of postpartum women in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

et al. 2022

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ObjectiveTo examine the effects of high ambient temperature on infant feeding practices and childcare.DesignSecondary analysis of quantitative data from a prospective cohort study.SettingCommunity-based interviews in the commune of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Exclusive breastfeeding is not widely practised in Burkina Faso.Participants866 women (1:1 urban:rural) were interviewed over 12 months. Participants were interviewed at three time points: cohort entry (when between 20 weeks’ gestation and 22 weeks’ postpartum), three and nine months thereafter. Retention at nine-month follow-up was 90%. Our secondary analysis focused on postpartum women (n=857).ExposureDaily mean temperature (°C) measured at one weather station in Bobo-Dioulasso. Meteorological data were obtained from publicly available archives (TuTiempo.net).Primary outcome measuresSelf-reported time spent breastfeeding (minutes/day), exclusive breastfeeding of infants under 6 months (no fluids other than breast milk provided in past 24 hours), supplementary feeding of infants aged 6–12 months (any fluid other than breast milk provided in past 24 hours), time spent caring for children (minutes/day).ResultsThe population experienced year-round high temperatures (daily mean temperature range=22.6°C–33.7°C). Breastfeeding decreased by 2.3 minutes/day (95% CI -4.6 to 0.04, p=0.05), and childcare increased by 0.6 minutes/day (0.06 to 1.2, p=0.03), per 1°C increase in same-day mean temperature. Temperature interacted with infant age to affect breastfeeding duration (p=0.02), with a stronger (negative) association between temperature and breastfeeding as infants aged (0–57 weeks). Odds of exclusive breastfeeding very young infants (0–3 months) tended to decrease as temperature increased (OR=0.88, 0.75 to 1.02, p=0.09). There was no association between temperature and exclusive breastfeeding at 3–6 months or supplementary feeding (6–12 months).ConclusionsWomen spent considerably less time breastfeeding (~25 minutes/day) during the hottest, compared with coolest, times of the year. Climate change adaptation plans for health should include advice to breastfeeding mothers during periods of high temperature.

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Extreme heat, preterm birth, and stillbirth: A global analysis across 14 lower-middle income countries

Cited by 68 publications

References 48 publications

Effect of Elevated Ambient Temperature on Maternal, Foetal, and Neonatal Outcomes: A Scoping Review

Effect of Elevated Ambient Temperature on Maternal, Foetal, and Neonatal Outcomes: A Scoping Review

Extreme temperatures during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes: Evidence from 2009 to 2018 U.S. national birth data

How do high ambient temperatures affect infant feeding practices? A prospective cohort study of postpartum women in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

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