EPA report: “Climate Change and the Health of Pregnant Women”
Excerpt: “Understanding the threats that climate change Climate change poses to human health can help us work will also cause together to lower risks and be prepared. Climate change threatens human health, including mental health, and access to clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food, and shelter. Everyone is affected by climate change at some point in their lives. Some people are more affected by climate change than others because of factors like where they live; their age, health, income, and occupation; and how they go about their day-to-day life. Most women have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. However, climate change can worsen environmental hazards that threaten the health of pregnant women and increase health risks for the baby, such as: • Low weight of the baby at birth. If a baby weighs less than 5.5 pounds at birth, there may be lasting effects on health. • Pre-term birth. Labor that starts before 37 weeks of pregnancy is considered pre-term, and may lead to health problems.”
