O&G Forum

have a number of roles that they can play in responding to the impact of climate change on pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. ese include: • Researching the impact of climate change on women living in informal settlements inhomeswithpoorventilationand inadequate access to clean water • Advocating for decent housing especially for women and children – simple measures like cool roof technologies can decrease indoor temperature. • Advocating for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, including reduction in dependence on fossil fuels • Providing informationand increasing awareness to front linehealth workers and to local communities about the impact of excessive heat on pregnancy and its outcomes – including in antenatal clinics and through community health workers • Advocating to municipalities to provide su cient clean water for hydration and the establishment of community gardens to strengthen food security and maternal nutrition • Advocating for the use of cash transfers for indigent pregnant women to enable them to protect themselves during their pregnancy and improving access to child care grants • Working with municipalities to monitor heat levels especially in poorly constructed and poorly ventilated homes including in informal settlements • Advocating with employers to protect pregnant women from working in environments with excessive heat Conclusion e impact of climate change on the health of our future generations should not be underestimated. Furthermore, the e ects of climate change are likely to widen existing gender-based health disparities, particularly in low-and middle-income countries. Pregnant women and neonates represent a vulnerable group across a range of social and cultural contexts. ere is an emerging need for adequate policy and public health responses to mitigate the risk of climate e ects on adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Global health and climate change communities need to galvanise e orts to raise awareness among policy makers. ere is also a need to improve the availability of high-quality data on the impact of climate change on maternal and new-born health as we can only plan for the future if we understand the true burden of the challenges we face. References 1. Walker P. Cop26 ‘literally the last chance saloon’ to save planet – Prince Charles. e Guardian. 2021 31 October 2021. 2. NASA. Climate Change: HowDoWe Know? (undated) [cited 2021 27 November]. Available from: https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ 3. ompson T. Scientist Rebellion: researchers join protesters at COP26. Nature. 2021;599(7885):357. 4. UNNews. Climate and Environment. November 13, 2021. https:// news.un.org/en/story/2021/11/1105792 5. Hickel J. Quantifying national responsibility for climate breakdown: an equality-based attribution approach for carbon dioxide emissions in excess of the planetary boundary. e Lancet Planetary Health, Volume 4, Issue 9, September 2020, Pages e399-e404 https://www. sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519620301960 6. Department of Economic and Social A airs. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. SDGReport, 2019. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2019/goal-11/ 7. WorldHealthOrganisation. Maternal Health: Key facts. September 19, 2019. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ maternal-mortality 8. UnitedNations Children's Fund. Neonatal Mortality. December 2021. https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/neonatal-mortality/ 9. Masipa TS. e impact of climate change on food security in South Africa: Current challenges ahead. Jamba: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies 2017; 9(1). 10. UnitedNations Climate (2020) Climate Change Is an Increasing reat to Africa. https://unfccc.int/news/climate-change-is-an- increasing-threat-to-africa. 11. Bryson JM, Patterson K, Berrang-Ford L, Lwasa S, NamanyaDB, Twesigomwe S et al. Seasonality, climate change, and food security during pregnancy among indigenous and non-indigenous women in rural Uganda: Implications for maternal-infant health. PLoS ONE 16(3): e0247198. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247198. 12. KhanAE, IresonA, Kovats S, Mojumder SK, KhusruA, Rahman A, Vineis P. Drinking water salinity andmaternal health in coastal Bangladesh: Implications of Climate Change. EnvironHealth Perspect 2011; 119: 1328-1332. 13. WHO. Ten threats to global health in 2019 2019 [Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/ten-threats-to-global- health-in-2019. 14. Institute HE. State of Global Air 2020. Special Report. Boston, MA: Health E ects Institute; 2020. Report No.: 2578-6873. 15. WorldHealthOrganisation. What are theWHOAir quality guidelines? September 22, 2021. https://www.who.int/news-room/ feature-stories/detail/what-are-the-who-air-quality-guidelines 16. Li Q, Zheng D, Wang Y, Li R, WuH, Xu S, Kang Y, Cao Y, Chen X, Zhu Y, Xu S, Chen ZJ, Liu P, Qiao J. Association between exposure to airborne particulate matter less than 2.5 μmand human fecundity in China. Environ Int. 2021 Jan;146:106231. doi: 10.1016/j. envint.2020.106231. Epub 2020 Nov 7. PMID: 33171380. 17. Bekkar B, Pacheco S, Basu R, DeNicolaN. Association of Air Pollution andHeat ExposureWith PretermBirth, LowBirthWeight, and Stillbirth in the US: A Systematic Review. JAMANetwork Open. 2020;3(6):e208243-e. 18. PedersenM, Stayner L, Slama R, SorensenM, Figueras F, NieuwenhuijsenMJ et al. Ambient air pollution and pregnancy- induced hypertensive disorders. A systematic review andmeta- analysis. Hypertension 2014; 64:494-500. 19. Giudice LC, Llamas-Clark EF, DeNicolaN, Pandipati S, Zlatnik MG, DecenaDCD, et al. Climate change, women's health, and the role of obstetricians and gynecologists in leadership. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2021;155(3):345-56. 20. Moodley Y, Tanser F, Tomita A. Temperature at conception and pregnancy loss in rural KwaZulu-Naltal Province, South Africa: Implications for climate change policy in sub-SaharanAfrcian settings. medRxiv 2021.03.18.21253883; doi: https://doi.org/10/1101 /2021.03.18.21253882. 21. Guo C, ChenG, He P, Zhang L, Zheng X. Risk of cognitive impairment in children a er maternal exposure to the 1998 Yangtze River ood during pregnancy: analysis of data fromChina's second National Sample Survey onDisability. Lancet Planet Health. 2020;4(11):e522-e9. 22. Lubinda J, Haque U, Bi Y, Hamainza B, Moore AJ. Near-term climate change impacts on sub-national malaria transmission. Scienti c Reports. 2021;11(1):751. 23. Wabnitz KJ, Gabrysch S, Guinto R, Haines A, HerrmannM, Howard C, et al. A pledge for planetary health to unite health professionals in the Anthropocene. Lancet. 2020;396(10261):1471-3. O&G Forum 2022; 32: 01-03 EDITORIAL OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY FORUM 2022 | ISSUE 3 | 3