Heat exposure doubles risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, study finds

New research from India has shown that working in extreme temperatures more than doubles the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, stillbirth, and low birth weight.

The study, which followed 800 women in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu throughout all three trimesters of their pregnancy, adds to a small but growing body of literature that warns of the impact of extreme heat on maternal physiology.

It is the first study in India to look at occupational heat hazards for pregnant working women. The study’s lead, Vidhya Venugopal, who is a professor at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, said that despite it being evident that "the people who are the most vulnerable when it comes to heat impacts are the people who are working,” a research gap exists in our knowledge of how working pregnant women are impacted by heat stress.