Impacts of climate changes on pregnancy and birth outcomes: A review

Abstract

This study aimed to review the impact of climate change around the world on the incidence of emerging and noncommunicable diseases in sensitive and vulnerable individuals, such as pregnant women and newborns. The combination of keywords such as climate change, ambient temperature, pregnancy outcomes, spontaneous abortion, preterm birth, stillbirth, autism, orofacial cleft, cleft palate, heart disorders, and diabetes was used for comprehensive search on reputable citation databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, throughout research conducted previously with a focus on the years from 2018 to 2020. The results of the literature cited showed that long-term exposure to high temperatures reduced birth weight. Heat has been reported to have serious adverse effect than cool weather for preterm birth. A significant association has been reported between seasonal changes and diabetes and gestational hypertension. Climate changes, by increasing infant mortality and miscarriage, have made a difference in sex ratios. Further, the development of neonatal abnormalities such as hypospadias, autism, cleft palate, and heart disorders has been significantly associated with climate change. Seasonal changes, rising temperatures, sunlight, increased ultraviolet rays, and ozone concentration have been suggested to involve in the prevalence of cleft palate. Changes in relative humidity, temperature, sunlight, oxygen pressure, and elevated environments have also contributed to the development of heart disorders. This review showed that climate change has played an important role in the incidence and prevalence of emerging diseases. Hence, climate change has adverse effects on pregnant women and neonates. This study confirms critical importance of climate change and its negative effect on susceptible people and next generation.