Tomorrow’s children: climate change linked to stillbirths

1/11/2023. By Arianne Chavez.

The past eight years have been the warmest on record.

Australia is getting hotter, but the rest of the world is no exception. While the world’s climate has fluctuated throughout history, the past eight years have been the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880. Earth is now 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 19^th century during the Industrial Revolution with NASA warning that climate change is ‘the existential threat of our time’.

Climate change occurs when greenhouse gases, caused by fossil fuel emissions that blanket the earth, trap the sun’s heat in the atmosphere causing the planet’s temperature to rise. It’s been described as the greatest challenge of the 21^st century, affecting our world in multiple complex ways, however the curious connection between climate change and stillbirths has only recently become clearer.

Worldwide, one stillbirth occurs every 16 seconds with approximately two million babies dying before they are born every year. Stillbirth is defined by World Health Organization as the death of a baby of at least 28 weeks gestation, in the womb or during birth, with vulnerable populations in poorer countries most severely affected.

Giving birth to a stillborn baby is a devastating and heartbreaking experience for parents, who often suffer long term psychological and emotional distress. Stillbirths also have far-reaching economic impacts for society.

Dr Sylvester Dodzi Nyadanu, a perinatal and environmental health Research Associate at the Epidemiology Research Lab at Curtin’s School of Population Health, believes the link between climate change and stillbirths is clear.

“Countries or individuals with low socioeconomic status are most impacted as they lack the necessary climate-resilient mitigation and adaptation resources. Out of the 48 million stillbirths recorded over two decades between 2000 and 2019),  84 per cent of these were from developing countries with Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) contributing the highest.”

Researcher Sylvester Dodzi Nyadanu says climate change is linked to stillborn babies.

Growing up in Ghana, West Africa, where 14 to 22 babies per 1000 are stillborn every year, Sylvester saw firsthand the importance of preventative health in improving community health outcomes. Determined to contribute to change by developing a career in public health, he completed a Masters in Science (Health Informatics) in Ghana. He was then awarded a Curtin International Postgraduate Research Scholarship for his PhD, which focused on the links between climate change, air pollution and adverse birth outcomes, including stillbirth in Australia and Ghana.

“I believe that evidence-based preventative medicine to enhance community health and wellbeing, particularly among the socio-demographically and biologically vulnerable subpopulations is required,” he says.

“One major area of interest to me is the ubiquitous and frequent environmental exposures populations experience, many caused by climate change, given that this has immediate, long-term and generational effects.” 

How is climate change linked to stillbirth?

The World Health Organization describes climate change as the single biggest health threat facing humanity. So, how does climate change affect pregnant women and their vulnerable unborn children? There are both direct and indirect impacts, but it all comes down to extremes.

Pregnant women undergo physiological changes that make it more difficult for them to regulate their core body temperature, which can impact their unborn babies. Fluctuations in external temperatures can exacerbate these challenges.

“Extreme climate change events such as extreme temperatures, especially heat stress or heatwaves, increase dehydration and rises in core body temperature,” Sylvester explains.

“This reduces the flow of blood, and hence nutrients and oxygen, from the mother to the developing baby in the uterus. The transfer of toxic waste materials away from the foetus through the placenta is also affected.

Worldwide one stillbirth occurs every 16 seconds.

Inadequate food and oxygen supply to the foetus, and accumulation of toxic wastes, result in foetal death or stillbirth. Direct heat or cold shock can also result in stillbirth as the foetus’ thermal environment is dependent on that of the mother.”

The indirect impacts of climate change are far-reaching and significant, ranging from reduced air quality to homelessness and mental health issues.

“Natural disasters such as hurricanes, cyclones, floods, and droughts cause homelessness and psychological distress, and disrupt access to healthcare and food security, leading to poor maternal nutrition, and interact with other social determinants of health which potentially increase the risks of stillbirth.”

“Transmission of vector-borne, example mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, Zika and Ross River viruses, and infections are elevated by climate change events. More generally, pregnant women are more vulnerable to infection, which is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, including stillbirth.”

Climate change solutions in the world’s ‘new normal’

Scientists tell us that climate change is here to stay with some of its effects now unavoidable. The United Nations has set ambitious targets to transform our world with its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes goals for protecting and conserving our planet and reducing stillbirths.

As individuals, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the impact of a warming globe, however we can all contribute to climate solutions. Education, such as Curtin’s Planet Positive Program, is an important initiative in developing the knowledge and skills to create lasting change, and people can make lifestyle changes to reduce their carbon footprint.

We need to encourage attitudinal change to our warming planet.

More broadly, Sylvester believes much can be done to mitigate the effects of climate change by encouraging a society-wide approach to changes in policy, infrastructure and transport, identifying and providing tailored supports to the world’s most vulnerable populations, and vetting new sources of energy.

“Community-level cooling or heating centres, or shades, and improved climate-resilient housing infrastructure is required. In developed countries, the transport system contributes to about 30 per cent of CO₂ emissions, so improving the accessibility of public transport systems, and minimising private transport systems, will contribute to the reduction in CO₂. Burning coal/biomass for heating or energy, which is more prevalent in developing countries, should be minimised or avoided.”

Greening the environment is key to combatting climate change.

Collaboration is key to addressing the multifaceted and interconnected impacts of climate change, with Sylvester advocating for a holistic approach to improve health outcomes for pregnant women and their unborn children.

“We need to establish more evidence of the impacts of climate change on health outcomes, particularly identifying the more vulnerable subpopulations, and critical susceptible periods. We must develop climate change-resilient guidelines with clinicians and other health professionals and advocate for integrating them with the known non-climatic factors in managing maternal and child health,” he explains.

“We must also develop evidence-based mitigation and adaptation strategies/interventions and the co-benefits on health. These are very important because changing extreme climate events to ‘back to normal’ is difficult, if not impossible, so coping strategies will be very helpful.”

Sylvester expresses some caution about the oft-touted solution of clean energy sources, noting that renewable energy may also affect health and must be carefully considered.

The response to another public health crisis, the recent COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrated that people will change their behaviour – and often significantly – if they believe that it’s necessary. Researchers and climate activists are hopeful that a combined effort from individuals, government, and industry to mitigate climate change will be enough save our planet and the children of tomorrow.

Sylvester believes change is possible but it’s time to act.

“Moving forward, the increasing frequency, duration and intensity of climate change requires an equivalent pace of approach in research, interventional strategies, advocacy, education and policies to save the climate and save lives,” he says.

“We need action on climate change, and we need it now.”

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