• Posted October 9, 2024

Heat Stress in Pregnancy Might Affect a Babies' Development Later

Hot weather can be more than just uncomfortable and annoying: New research finds it can impact an infant’s development both before and after birth.

Babies are more likely to be delivered at low birth weight as an expecting mom’s average daily heat stress increases during the first trimester, researchers found.

What’s more, growing infants regularly exposed to heat stress can experience stunted growth, results showed.

At the age of 1, infants regularly exposed to average 86-degree-Fahrenheit temperatures were more likely to weigh less for their height and age than those exposed to an average temperature of 77 degrees, researchers said.

“These findings build on previous evidence showing that the first trimester is a vulnerable time to heat exposure and it’s important that we now consider which factors may be contributing to the relationship,” said lead researcher Dr. Ana Bonell, an assistant professor with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

“It’s likely that heat stress may impact appetite, food intake and availability, and we’re also already looking into whether there may be direct effects on cellular and inflammatory pathways, adding to the already reduced capacity of pregnant mothers and infants to regulate their own body temperature,” Bonell added in a school news release.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from 668 infants and their mothers living in the West African nation of Gambia between January 2010 and February 2015.

Over the course of the study, mothers and infants were exposed to an overall average temperature of nearly 86 degrees, researchers said. The hottest day reached 114 degrees, and the coolest was 84 degrees.

The new study was published Oct. 8 in The Lancet Planetary Health journal.

“We need to explore which populations are projected to experience heat stress the most and where growth faltering may be being recorded, to enable us to develop effective public health measures,” Bonell said. “With global rates of child wasting remaining unacceptably high and ongoing planetary warming, these findings must spur action on improving child health.”

More information

Harvard University has more on the effect of extreme heat on early childhood development.

SOURCE: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, news release, Oct. 8, 2024