Climate Change, Rising Temperatures Fueling Premature Births, Claims New Study

Climate change and rapidly rising temperatures across the globe pose a threat to children in the womb, claims a new study.

Premature birth is more likely as a result of the rapidly rising temperature. It could also result in problems like hospitalisation and weight gain among young children, the study further claims.

In six separate studies, scientists have claimed that rising temperatures pose a significant risk to the health of the foetus, newborns, and babies. The results of this study were published in the Journal of Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology’s Special Edition.

The study was conducted by Gregory A. Wellenius, guest editor of the journal and professor of environmental health at Boston University and researcher Amelia K. Wesselink.

The findings of the study show that rapidly increasing heat and the smoke generated by storms and forest fires are increasing the risk of premature birth and health problems in children.

Researchers came to this conclusion after tracking 1 million pregnant women in South Wales, Australia, between 2014 and 2015. They discovered that 16 percent of premature births occurred in areas where temperatures rose sharply.

They also discovered that pregnant women who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy and had pre-existing health problems had a higher risk of premature birth because the combined heat made the pregnant woman more sensitive to the effects of rising temperatures in those circumstances.

According to scientists, a similar situation occurred in Texas, USA, between 2007 and 2011. Due to extreme heat temperatures and exposure to heatwaves, the risk of premature birth rose to 15 percent in Texas.

Besides that, many different types of health issues have been observed in children after birth. Forest fires have become more common in the United States of America over the last two decades.

In another study, Scientists analysed two lakh children born in Israel. The study demonstrated a link between high temperature and weight gain in the first year of newborns.

Under the study, twenty percent of the children were exposed to higher temperatures at night, following which five percent of them gained weight rapidly.

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