Drought during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm birth and impaired fetal growth, international study suggests
Climate change is making droughts more frequent, prolonged and intense in many regions of the world, increasing the need to understand their effects on health.
An international study led by the Sant Pau Research Institute in Spain has found that exposure to drought during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm birth and reduced fetal growth. The research, published in The Lancet Regional Health—Americas, analyzed nearly 30 million births in Brazil from 2001 to 2020. The study, coordinated by the CIDACS in Brazil, highlights drought's impact on maternal and child health as a planetary health issue.
Dr. Aline Rocha, the project's principal investigator and first author, emphasized that drought is not just an environmental or agricultural problem but also a determinant of health. The researchers used the Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) to estimate drought exposure based on precipitation and temperature-related water loss.
They examined cumulative water deficits during the three, six, and nine months preceding birth, covering relatively brief exposures and those lasting throughout most of the pregnancy.
The findings showed a 2% relative increase in preterm birth risk across three time scales analyzed, translating to 1.4 to 1.7 additional cases per 1,000 births. Cumulative exposure over six months showed a progressively higher risk, ranging from 1% (moderate episode) to 3% (severe) to 5% (extreme). The middle and late stages of pregnancy may be particularly sensitive periods. Small for gestational age babies were 1% to 2% more likely when drought exposure occurred during early and middle stages.
Written by urgent.news from Medical Xpress's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
