How Climate Change May Threaten Progress in Neonatal Health in the African Region

Abstract

Climate change is likely to have wide-ranging impacts on maternal and neonatal health in Africa. Populations in low-resource settings already experience adverse impacts from weather extremes, a high burden of disease from environmental exposures, and limited access to high-quality clinical care. Climate change is already increasing local temperatures. Neonates are at high risk of heat stress and dehydration due to their unique metabolism, physiology, growth, and developmental characteristics. Infants in low-income settings may have little protection against extreme heat due to housing design and limited access to affordable space cooling. Climate change may increase risks to neonatal health from weather disasters, decreasing food security, and facilitating infectious disease transmission. Effective interventions to reduce risks from the heat include health education on heat risks for mothers, caregivers, and clinicians; nature-based solutions to reduce urban heat islands; space cooling in health facilities; and equitable improvements in housing quality and food systems. Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are essential to reduce the long-term impacts of climate change that will further undermine global health strategies to reduce neonatal mortality.

Evaluating the potential impact of spinal anesthesia use in lumbar surgery on global healthcare cost and climate change

“…Poorer, developing countries bear the greatest consequences of climate change due to vulnerabilities such as coastal location, high population density, and poor sanitation ( Campbell-Lendrum and Corvalán, 2007 ). Climate change drastically affects food security and the proliferation of arthropod vectors, leading to malnutrition and the spread of vector borne illness like malaria ( Zhou et al., 2005 ; Khasnis and Nettleman, 2005 ; Rocklöv and Dubrow, 2020 ; Nakstad et al., 2022 ). Given the learning curve for lumbar spine surgery under spinal anesthesia is not as steep as previously thought, training spine neurosurgeons in developed countries may be feasible ( West et al., 2022 ).…”

Awareness and interventions to reduce dehydration in pregnant, postpartum women, and newborns in rural Kenya

“…Published literature on neonatal and infant dehydration as a consequence of heat exposure and environmental challenges is scarce. 9 Dehydration in this vulnerable population is mostly associated with gastroenteritis, pyelonephritis or bronchiolitis. 10 Insufficient hydration in breastfed newborns is common, and the very hot climate increases the risk of small-sized babies losing too much water and not being able to drink enough milk to replace the loss.…”

Heat exposure and perinatal mortality: A time-stratified, case-crossover study from 16 hospitals in Benin, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda

“…6,8,26 Preterm birth is a major risk factor for stillbirth and neonatal mortality. 27 Further, heat stress may impair placental development and spiral artery remodeling and increase the risk of hypertensive disorders, another key risk factor for stillbirths. 8,18,19 Abruptio placenta has also been associated with ambient temperature 20,21 and this also directly affects survival of the foetus.…”