Record-breaking heat poses myriad health risks for the average person, but experts are emphasizing the additional problem it can pose during pregnancy. 

What's happening?

According to the Associated Press, the science surrounding extreme temperatures and pregnancy has become an increasingly relevant topic, as temperatures worldwide continue to soar due to a warming planet. 

According to Anna Bershteyn, an NYU associate professor and director of Project HEATWAVE, there are multiple medical factors at play that make pregnant people particularly vulnerable. 

"An obvious thing is, pregnant people have a belly bump, depending how far along they are, and that's a change in their surface to volume ratio," she explained. 

Since heat leaves the body through the skin, the additional area around the belly makes that journey farther before it escapes. 

Other changes during pregnancy can also inhibit the body's ability to regulate temperature. Factors such as increased calorie burning, increased susceptibility to dehydration, and altered blood flow all complicate the natural processes for staying cool in extreme heat. 

As a result, a pregnancy — which already puts considerable strain on the body — could be worsened by extreme temperatures' impact on vital organs. 

Why is the health impact of extreme heat on pregnancy concerning?

This correlation has become a topic of conversation in medical circles due to rising global temperatures, particularly in the poorest parts of the world. 

UNICEF lists a warming climate as one of the environmental factors at play in areas with high pregnancy mortality rates.

Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, has some of the highest pregnancy mortality rates in the world, accounting for 70% of global deaths in 2023. 

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The region has experienced one of the worst droughts in a century, with extreme heat and minuscule rainfall causing food shortages and economic ruin in an already underserved part of the world. 

For pregnant people, rising global temperatures have an impact on their health beyond immediate heat exposure. The ramifications of extreme heat bleed into every factor of health for the poorest communities, from diet to economic and sociological opportunity.

What's being done about the health of pregnant women in the face of climate change?

For Cara Schulte, a researcher at UC Berkeley and Climate Rights International, shining a light on the health of pregnant people in extreme heat is essential to ensure it gets the same level of research and funding that similar studies on athletes, children, and others receive. 

"This is a hugely understudied thing," said Bershteyn. "There hasn't been the same level of commitment to women's health research."

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