Global warming increases the number of risky pregnancies, according to an NGO report
By The New Obs with AFP
Published on , updated on
A pregnant woman. NICOLAS MESSYASZ/SIPA
Extreme heatwaves , which are becoming more frequent due to global warming , do not only threaten the elderly. They also increase the risks for pregnant women and their babies , a phenomenon that is increasingly being understood by scientists.
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"Climate change is increasing pregnancy-related risks worldwide due to extreme heat," summarizes the report from a leading US-based NGO, Climate Central, relayed in France by the Conséquences association, on Wednesday, May 14.
Its authors sought to measure the extent to which pregnant women's exposure to excessive heat had increased across the world since the 2020s, and to what extent this increase is linked to global warming.
"Clear evidence"Ultimately, "in most countries (221), climate change has at least doubled the average number of days of extreme heat that are risky for pregnancy each year," concludes this analysis. And the increase is particularly marked in regions where "access to care is limited, notably in the Caribbean, as well as in parts of Central and South America, the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa."
This study has its limitations. Its authors did not look at the extent to which pregnant women were actually more affected in the countries concerned, only commenting on the increase in risky temperatures. Above all, it provides "clear evidence of increased risks associated with exposure to extreme heat," researcher Ana Bonell of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told AFP, stressing that her conclusions could apply equally to the elderly.
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