Higher temperatures increase the risk of premature delivery during the later stages of pregnancy, according to research conducted in Taiwan.
The work was part of a research project conducted by a team led by Taipei Medical University College of Public Health dean Chen Yi-hua (陳怡樺) and was presented at a seminar on Saturday on climate change’s impact on pregnancies.
It integrated cohort studies from 2011 to 2022 in Taipei and New Taipei City, and weather data from the Central Weather Administration to analyze the influence of high temperatures on fetuses.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
The research showed that for a woman who falls pregnant in the winter (and gives birth in the summer), the higher nighttime temperatures she is exposed to in late pregnancy have a negative impact on her and the child’s health.
Every 1°C increase in the average temperature raises the risk of premature birth and low birth weight by 6 percent.
For the mother, higher temperatures lead to higher rates of depression.
Taipei Medical University College of Public Health vice dean Chao Hsing (趙馨) said that there are many mechanisms linking antepartum depression and premature birth.
Heat can lead to negative emotions and increase the risk of premature birth, Chao said.
Lee Hung-chang (李宏昌), an honorary physician at Mackay Children’s Hospital, said that pregnant women and children are vulnerable to extreme temperatures.
The research also showed that exposure to green spaces during pregnancy is significantly correlated to the development of a child’s ability to concentrate.
Chao called on pregnant women to take walks in green spaces, as well as enhance their knowledge of heat risks and take necessary precautions.
She said she hoped authorities would devote more resources to green spaces to protect vulnerable groups against climate change.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
RSS