Haiti: The potential transgenerational effect of disasters

Abstract

The scale of the damage wrought on the population of Haiti by the recent earthquakes has resulted in almost unprecedented efforts to render aid to a disaster-stricken populace.1 After the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes, it is essential that aid work continues so that the infrastructure can be rebuilt, displaced people re-housed, food supplies unhindered and medical care optimised. This aspect of aid is clear to all. However, the impact of such catastrophes not only on the current inhabitants of Haiti but on future generations has received scant attention. There is a clear effect on the generation of neonates born after a disaster on the magnitude of the Haitian earthquake. A study of births after an earthquake of a similar magnitude that occurred in the Wenchuan province in China, showed an overall decrease in mean birth weight as well as an increase in the proportion of births that were classed as underweight.2 The authors also detected an excess in birth defects occurring in neonates who had been in utero at the time of the earthquake. Can these findings be generalized to other populations and potentially other types of catastrophe? The answer is unfortunately ‘yes’. In utero exposure …