Reproductive and Birth Outcomes in Haiti Before and After the 2010 Earthquake

Abstract

Experience with the earthquake was associated with worse reproductive and birth outcomes, which underscores the need to provide reproductive health services as part of relief efforts.

Birth Outcomes after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster: A Long-Term Retrospective Study

“…Increases in low birthweight births have been documented after natural disasters, chemical disasters and terrorism, with or without concurrent increases in preterm births [9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. Post-disaster changes in birth outcomes are thought to be mediated through maternal exposure to environmental toxins or disaster-related psychosocial stress, yet an area that remains unclear is the timeframe between exposure and outcome [9,21].…”

Women's health is not in focus in disaster zones: lessons from the Nepal earthquake

“…While destruction of hospitals and healthcare facilities led to severe lack of antenatal care, pregnancy rates are paradoxically likely to increase following a disaster due to unavailability of contraceptives and reduced bargaining power in sexual situations 11. And while few studies among pregnant earthquake victims have reported reduced birth weight and increased stillbirth rates,12 13 nutritional deficiency is common among pregnant women in disaster situations, and may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.…”

“…Many lost both their possessions and their social networks. Several studies have reported a higher prevalence of psychological problems including anxiety and depression after earthquake both among non-pregnant and pregnant women 6 12. Poor reproductive health and lack of access to healthcare facilities are known risk factors for depression and anxiety among women after earthquake 14.…”

The changing health priorities of earthquake response and implications for preparedness: a scoping review

“…The immediate impacts reported on reproductive health included lower birth weights 89,90 and higher proportions of still births 90 . In the medium term, reproductive outcomes continued to be affected with shorter inter-pregnancy intervals 89 , increases in unplanned pregnancies 89,91 and an overall increase in births 92 .…”

“…In the medium term, reproductive outcomes continued to be affected with shorter inter-pregnancy intervals 89 , increases in unplanned pregnancies 89,91 and an overall increase in births 92 . Also reported were reductions in access to reproductive health services as a consequence of the earthquake 91,[93][94][95] .…”