Extreme Heat During Pregnancy Is Dangerous

During pregnancy, exposure to extreme heat bumps up the risk of severe maternal complications some 27%. California public health researchers led by those at UC-Irvine studied 403,602 pregnancies in women with an average age of 30 years over a 10 year period preceding CoVid. Exposures to hot weather were categorized by intensity of the heat as well as the duration of the exposures.

Exposures of pregnant women to excessive heat above the 80th percentile in terms of severity and duration at any time during pregnancy were associated with those 27% higher risks of severe gestational complications. The risk of problems rose from 32% to 239% as daily maximal temperatures rose from the 75th percentile to the 95th percentile and the exposure durations rose from 2 to 4 days.

With climate change driving ever more frequent heat waves, women considering childbearing must plan for access to fresh, clean, and cool air.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2809055

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