Effects of climate change on maternal and newborn health in Africa

Air pollution and climate change both have an immediate adverse effect on reproductive, maternal and perinatal health outcomes, with the devastating potential to affect the health of future generations to come, writes researchers from the CHAMNHA project.

Every year, worldwide, it has been estimated that 2.0 million stillbirths, 2.5 million neonatal deaths and 295 000 maternal deaths take place, according to estimates published by WHO, and UNICEF. Most of these occur in low‐income countries and are preventable with timely lifesaving interventions during pregnancy and childbirth. Moreover, low-income countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change because of poverty, poor sanitation, high prevalence of malnutrition, infections, non-communicable diseases, poor quality housing and weak non-resilient healthcare systems.

Particularly vulnerable group

“Pregnant woman and newborns are particularly vulnerable to effects of climate change such as heat waves, and even more so in low and middle income countries. The effects of climate change can be both direct through e.g. heat stress and indirect through e.g. extreme weather events and air pollution”, explains Sari Kovats from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, lead researcher in the CHAMNHA project.

In a commentary in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica researchers from the CHAMNHA project argue that climate adaptation plans need to consider vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and neonates and a broad multisectoral approach to improve overall resilience of societies. Moreover, they argue that global health and climate change communities need to work together and galvanize efforts to raise awareness among policy makers regarding the consequences of climate change on the health of women and children, and on future generations to come.

Improving knowledge of impact of heat stress on health of pregnant woman and newborns

The CHAMNHA (Climate, Heat and Maternal and Neonatal Health in Africa) project aims to fill important knowledge gaps in terms of the impact of heat waves on the health of pregnant women and newborns and to assess and quantify the impact of heat stress on health outcomes (including health‐related behavior), to identify vulnerable populations and understand how heat is perceived as a health risk, among pregnant women and neonates.Read the recent commentary by CHAMNHA researchers published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica: «Maternal and newborn health risks of climate change: A call for awareness and global action».

CHAMNHA is one of the climate change and health research projects represented in ENBEL.