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How can we help pregnant women better cope with heat?

Updated 8:07 AM ET · 7:13 AM ETConfirmed

Health Desk

In Short: The findings from this study could lead to better policies and interventions to protect pregnant women and their unborn children from the adverse effects of heat stress.

A study in Gambia is shedding light on the risks faced by pregnant women working as subsistence farmers during extreme heat conditions.

Led by Ana Bonell, an academic clinician from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) based at its Gambia Medical Research Unit, the project aimed to understand the impact of heat stress on pregnant women and their unborn children.

For the study, 92 pregnant farmers in and around Keneba were examined for signs of heat stress once every two months as they went about their daily tasks.

The research, which began roughly a decade ago, has seen an acceleration in recent years, with mounting evidence suggesting that heat is detrimental for pregnant women and their unborn babies.

Kristie Ebi, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, noted that publications first started to come out suggesting pregnant women might be at particular risk during heat waves around a decade ago.

In a 2020 review of 68 studies conducted between 2007 and 2019, which together analyzed 32.7 million births in the US, DeNicola and his co-authors found a link between extreme heat and pre-term contractions, as well as premature birth.

The study's findings highlight the need for better understanding and management of heat stress during pregnancy, especially in regions where subsistence farming is common.

Frequently, women come to Sinjanka dehydrated, with cracking lips, and complaining of headaches, indicating the severity of heat stress they face.

Health officials are now calling for more attention to be paid to pregnant women during heatwaves, with a focus on tracking health indicators and integrating these considerations into routine monitoring systems.

Four UN agencies have launched a set of indicators to help governments track the health toll of extreme heat on mothers and newborns, urging countries to watch for spikes in preterm births, stillbirths, and child deaths during heatwaves.

The study also underscores the broader implications of climate change on human health, particularly for vulnerable populations like pregnant women and their unborn children.

Dr. Pascale Allotey, director of WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, emphasized the urgent need to address these risks as the world continues to heat up.

Background

What's confirmed

• Over a million people are eligible for this year’s free flu vaccine, as the Public Health Agency (PHA) launches the vaccination programme with a call for people to help protect themselves and others this winter.

What's still developing

• Pregnancy is exhausting, and some women are too fatigued to push during labour.
• "And recently, there's been an acceleration [in research]."
• "At times, you have women who come in with [a stillbirth] and you wonder: what is happening. Why are pregnant women having such problems?"
• "I really love my job, I love helping pregnant women in labour," he says.
• A 2025 WHO-commissioned review of 83 heat-health action plans from 24 countries found only 52% named pregnant women as an at-risk group, while 39% named newborns and 14% postpartum or breastfeeding women.
• “Many countries lack practical guidance on which health indicators to track, how to interpret trends alongside heat exposure data, and how to integrate these considerations into routine monitoring systems,” senior officials from WHO, WMO, UNICEF and UNFPA wrote in a joint foreword to the report.
• Sarah Everard’s case is striking a nerve with women because she did everything we’ve been told to do.
• Victorian coroner hears Emily Lal told Stacey Warnecke that her ‘condition and mindset’ needed to be ‘solid’ to avoid a hospital birth Follow our Australia politics live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Victorian coroner hears Emily Lal told Stacey Warnecke that her ‘condition and mindset’ needed to be ‘solid’ to avoid a hospital birth Follow our Australia politics live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A birthkeeper who allegedly “groomed” pregnant women to fear hospital could be referred to prosecutors to face potential criminal charges, a Victorian coroner has heard.
• An important part of protecting your developing baby is protecting yourself.
• Nature Communications volume 17, Article number: 1495 ( 2026 ) Cite this article While we have previously shown that a first pregnancy changes women’s brain structure and resting-state brain activity, it is currently unknown how a woman’s brain is transformed when she undergoes another pregnancy.
• Here is everything to know about the case: Walker discovered she was five weeks pregnant during an emergency room visit in mid-September 2024.
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is urging insurers to continue covering vaccinations during pregnancy in an open letter signed by 30 prominent professional health organizations.

Sources

• BBClink
• Health Policy Watchlink
• The Guardianlink
• West Virginia Watchlink
• The Hollywood Reporterlink
• Publichealthlink
• Naturelink
• Washingtonexaminerlink
• Bollywoodshaadislink
• Warpbeatlink
• Pagesixlink
• The Indian Expresslink
• Peoplelink
• Phillyvoicelink
• The Indian Expresslink
• WarpBeat — background on How pregnant women can protect themselves from air pollution link