Extreme hot or cold
temperatures during pregnancy may increase the risk of preterm birth,
according to study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
The study authors found that
extremes of hot and cold during the first seven weeks of pregnancy were
associated with early delivery. Women exposed to extreme heat for the majority
of their pregnancies also were more likely to deliver early.
The researchers found more
consistent associations with early delivery after exposure to extreme heat than
to extreme cold weather. They theorized that, during cold spells, people are
more likely to seek shelter and so could more easily escape the cold's effects.
But during extreme heatwaves, people are more likely to endure the temperature,
particularly when the cost of or access to air conditioning is an impediment.
The study was published in
Environmental Health Perspectives.
"Our findings indicate
that it may well be prudent to minimize the exposure of pregnant women to
extremes in temperature," said the study's senior author, Pauline Mendola,
Ph.D., an epidemiologist in the Division of Intramural and Population Health
Research at the NIH'sEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development (NICHD).
A pregnancy is considered
full term at between 39 and 40 weeks.Preterm
birth occurs before 37 weeks of pregnancy and increases the risk for
infant death and long term disability. It is unknown why extremes of hot or
cold might influence preterm birth risk. However, the researchers theorize that
the stress of temperature extremes could hinder the development of the placenta
or alter blood flow to the uterus, both of which could potentially lead to
early labor.
To conduct the study, the
researchers linked electronic medical records from 223,375 births at 12
clinical centers throughout the United States to hourly temperature records for
the region surrounding each center. The researchers noted that what constitutes
a hot or cold temperature varies from person to person and place to place. To
compensate for local climate variability and personal susceptibility, the
researchers evaluated temperatures in the surrounding regions. They defined
extreme cold temperatures as below the 10 th percentile of average
temperatures, and defined extreme heat as above the 90th percentile.
The researchers found that
women who experienced extreme cold for the first seven weeks of their
pregnancies had a 20 percent higher risk for delivering before 34 weeks of
pregnancy, a nine percent increased risk for delivering from 34-36 weeks, and a
three percent increased risk for delivering in weeks 37 and 38. Women whose
first seven weeks of pregnancy coincided with extreme heatwaves had an 11
percent increase in risk before 34 weeks, and a four percent increased risk at
37 to 38 weeks.
Exposure to extreme heat
during weeks 15-21 increased the risk for delivery at 34 weeks and at 34-36
weeks by 18 percent and for delivery from 37 to 39 weeks by four percent. Hot
exposures during weeks 8-14 increased the risk for birth at 37 to 38 weeks by 4
percent.
Overall, exposure to extreme
heat for the duration of pregnancy was associated with increases in risk for
delivery at 34 weeks and 36-38 weeks by 6 to 21 percent.
An increase in the number of
extreme hot days due to climate change could lead to increases in the preterm
birth rate, the authors wrote. The authors added that their findings underscore
the need for health professionals and policy makers to devise interventions for
minimizing pregnant women's exposure to extreme temperatures. The authors also
called for more research to understand how temperature extremes might increase
preterm birth risk.