Heatwaves are increasing pregnancy complications, study says

Exposure to extreme heat while pregnant has been linked to a range of problems, including a higher risk of premature birth and gestational diabetes. — Freepik
Scorching heatwaves fuelled by global warming are increasing the risk of dangerous complications during pregnancies across the world, a report warned recently.
Being exposed to extreme heat while pregnant has previously been linked to a range of problems, including a higher risk of premature birth, stillbirth, birth defects and gestational diabetes.
The new report from the United States-based research group Climate Central sought to measure how much more pregnant women have been exposed to excessive heat since 2020 – and to what extent climate change is to blame.
In 222 out of the 247 countries and territories studied, 'climate change at least doubled the average annual number of pregnancy heat-risk days experienced during the past five years', the report said.
The biggest increases were in developing countries where access to healthcare is limited, such as in the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Pacific islands, South-East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
The researchers only looked at the rise in potentially dangerous hot days and did not examine the extent to which pregnant women were actually affected by heat in the countries.
Ana Bonell, a maternal health and extreme heat researcher at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine not involved in the report, said it 'gives clear evidence of the growing exposure risk to extreme heat'.
The findings could also apply to the elderly, another group who are more at risk during blisteringly hot periods, she said.
While researchers are increasingly documenting the many ways that extreme heat can threaten human health, there remain 'many unknowns' about the physiological mechanisms to explain why this happens, Bonell said.
A large 2024 study in Nature Medicine estimated that heatwaves increase the odds of having a complication during pregnancy by 1.25 times.
Beyond wider efforts to fight climate change – which is largely caused by humans burning fossil fuels – experts advised local policies to help communities beat the heat.
These include 'greening neighbourhoods, limiting pollution, creating cool areas and informing residents about the risks,' French epidemiologist Lucie Adelaide said.
In a statement linked to the new report, she also recommended that existing information about the health risks of heatwaves include warnings for pregnant women, who are currently rarely mentioned in such efforts. – AFP

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Star

14 hours ago

• The Star

Toxic chemicals found in food and wine

The report found there has been a 'sharp increase' in pesticide and chemical residues in wine bottled since 2010. — TNS A team of researchers has found 'alarmingly high' levels of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a so-called 'forever chemical', in dozens of organic and non-organic pastas, baked goods and breakfast cereals from Europe, as well as in wine. 'In conventional grain products, the average levels were so high that a health risk to children can no longer be ruled out,' said Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, an environmental chemist part of the Brussels-based Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe, which describes TFA as a 'product of PFAS pesticides and industrial chemicals.' Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, are thousands of long-lasting substances used in household and everyday products since the middle of the 20th century but which have been found to be difficult to remove from the environment and from human bodies. The latest research points to 'widespread contamination from PFAS (per- and poly fluoroalkyl substances) pesticides,' PAN Europe said, warning that TFA tends to build up in water and farmland. The amount of TFA in the food items was found to be three times that recorded in a similar study eight years ago, according to PAN Europe, which in April warned of 'dramatic rise' of TFA in wine. In a report covering wines from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain, PAN Europe found that while pre-1988 vintages do not contain any such contamination, there has been a 'sharp increase' in pesticide and chemical residues in wine bottled since 2010. Such a 'steep accumulation' should be 'a red flag that calls for decisive action,' according to Michael Müller, a professor of pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry at the University of Freiburg. The European Chemicals Agency has warned that TFA 'may cause harm to the unborn child' and 'may impair fertility.' – dpa

Malaysian Reserve

2 days ago

• Malaysian Reserve

UK heat wave could claim nearly 600 lives this week, experts warn

SCIENTISTS have warned the elderly and other vulnerable groups in the UK are at risk of heat-related deaths this weekend, as a new study shows recent high temperatures could claim 570 lives in just over four days. Researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London published on Saturday a real-time analysis calculating the number of heat-related deaths expected from Thursday to Sunday. Their study, which combined mortality risk with weather forecasts, estimated this week's high and sustained temperatures could have caused 114 fatalities Thursday, 152 Friday, with 303 more potential fatalities over the weekend. Saturday is expected to be the deadliest day, with an estimate of 266 heat-related deaths, nearly half of which could be recorded in London, according to the researchers. 'Our study should be taken as a warning,' said Malcolm Mistry, who participated in the study and teaches at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. 'Exposure to temperatures in the high-20s or low-30s may not seem dangerous, but they can be fatal, particularly for people aged over 65, infants, pregnant people and those with pre-existing health conditions.' Other European countries are also expected to suffer this weekend. The German weather service issued heat warnings for Sunday across much of western and northern parts of the country, including cities Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg and Berlin. The notifications are issued when temperatures are forecast to rise to levels that could endanger human health. French weather service Meteo France warned of an early heatwave in parts of western France on Saturday, with temperatures expected to reach as high as around 39C. The departments of Rhone and Isere, in the east, are also affected. The orange level alarm means people should be 'very vigilant' as 'dangerous phenomena' are expected. Heat deaths are notoriously difficult to track. While a number of illnesses are exacerbated by rising temperatures, many people who lose their lives in heat waves 'rarely have heat listed as a contributing cause of death,' said Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, lecturer at Imperial College London. This week the UK has been experiencing unusually intense and sustained heat for the time of year, spurring warnings from health authorities. Global warming has increased the chances of an early heat wave from once every 50 years in a pre-industrial climate to every five years, a team of researchers at Imperial College and the World Weather Attribution group said in a separate study published Friday. –BLOOMBERG

New Straits Times

2 days ago

• New Straits Times

French scientists find new blood type in Guadeloupe woman

BASSE-TERRE: A French woman from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe has been identified as the only known carrier of a new blood type, dubbed "Gwada negative," France's blood supply agency has announced. The announcement was made 15 years after researchers received a blood sample from a patient who was undergoing routine tests ahead of surgery, the French Blood Establishment (EFS) said on Friday. "The EFS has just discovered the 48th blood group system in the world!" the agency said in a statement on social network LinkedIn. "This discovery was officially recognised in early June in Milan by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT)." The scientific association had until now recognised 47 blood group systems. Thierry Peyrard, a medical biologist at the EFS involved in the discovery, told AFP that a "very unusual" antibody was first found in the patient in 2011. However, resources at the time did not allow for further research, he added. Scientists were finally able to unravel the mystery in 2019 thanks to "high-throughput DNA sequencing", which highlighted a genetic mutation, Peyrard said. The patient, who was 54 at the time and lived in Paris, was undergoing routine tests before surgery when the unknown antibody was detected, Peyrard said. This woman "is undoubtedly the only known case in the world," said the expert. "She is the only person in the world who is compatible with herself," he said. Peyrard said the woman inherited the blood type from her father and mother, who each had the mutated gene. The name "Gwada negative", which refers to the patient's origins and "sounds good in all languages", has been popular with the experts, said Peyrard. The ABO blood group system was first discovered in the early 1900s. Thanks to DNA sequencing the discovery of new blood groups has accelerated in recent years. Peyrard and colleagues are now hoping to find other people with the same blood group. "Discovering new blood groups means offering patients with rare blood types a better level of care," the EFS said.