This year, thanks to the activism of Greta Thunberg, climate change has become a major topic of conversation, and rightly so. After all, we all need to start protecting our planet. A recent study shows that climate change has now been linked to preterm babies.
In a study released by Nature Climate Change, it is stated that owing to the rising temperatures that are occurring due to climate change, more women are delivering before the 40 week gestational mark. If babies are born before that, they are termed as premature.
The research team was led by Dr Lyndsay A. Avalos in Northern California over a span of 14 years, i.e., between January 1, 1995, to December 31, 2009, to investigate the impact of apparent temperature on spontaneous preterm delivery. The findings revealed that with the increase in temperature by 10 °F (5.6 °C) during warm seasons, the cases of spontaneous preterm delivery has increased by 11.6%.
The researchers haven’t pinpointed to the exact reason that is causing women to go into labour earlier, but plausible reasons include owing to the increased heat, a mother experiences cardiovascular stress and that in turn leads her to go into early labour.
Another reason could be, according to the scientists, that owing to the high temperatures, it increases the levels of the hormone oxytocin, which in turn induces labour. The last theory is that owing to the hot temperature, the mother cannot sleep properly, which increases the chances of preterm labour, and also preeclampsia which is a complication that causes high BP.
If you’re wondering what afflicts preterm babies, they have a whole host of developmental issues – such as respiratory issues as well as heart and brain issues, such as bleeding in the brain. Long term complications include cerebral palsy, impaired learning and hearing problems.
Climate change is something that we need to address seriously, every small gesture count. We need to change our ways to become more sustainable – from switching to menstrual cups, using more eco-friendly resources and working actively to reducing our carbon footprint. We need to do our bit for future generations.
