Heat stress may still affect babies once born, research shows
Exposure to high levels of heat may impact both the growth of foetuses during pregnancy and infants up to the age of two, a new analysis shows. A study conducted by Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (MRCG at LSHTM), funded by the Wellcome Trust revealed that heat exposure must be considered in public health interventions to reduce the impact of climate change on pregnant women and their children. The findings published in The Lancet Planetary Health, suggest that heat stress may impact the growth of babies after they are born, adding to previous research by the team showing the impact of heat stress on foetal development. Being the first of its kind, the study showed that infants up to the age of two exposed to high heat in their environment may have lower weights for their age. The largest decreases were seen in infants between 6-18 months of age who had experienced higher average daily levels of heat stress in the previou...