Maternal morbidity said to increase during intense heat | amNewYork

"Walking home from her job in the Upper East Side to her Brooklyn apartment, Carson Bunting recalls the summer heat in 2025the second hottest summer New York has ever seenaffecting her heavily. The reason why? She was pregnant. Bunting even would have to take breaks on her walk home to sit in a coffee shop and enjoy some water and air conditioning due to the heavy air affecting her."

"Masters explains that heat works differently in the body, especially in those who are pregnant. Due to this, different trimesters mean different thermal temperatures in the body. In the first trimester, heat may impact the healthy formation of the child or the DNA sequencing. In the second trimester, there may be more developmental issues including gestational diabetes. When it comes to the third trimester, some of the outside environmental factors may lead to pre-term births, specifically prior to 37 weeks."

"Pregnancy is a time that's characterized even in normal circumstances by additional stress on your body, said Masters. To sustain a healthy child, you have to try and be healthy yourself. Masters lists some symptoms pregnant people may face during pregnancy. This includes but is not limited to preterm birth, low birthweight, gestational diabetes, congenital anomalies, stillbirths, or preeclampsia."

"Although it is difficult to study pregnant people directly impacted by heat, patterns can be noticed that gives explanations. We can't just expose women to excess heat, said Masters. You have to kind of find natural designs that work really well to s"

A pregnant person walking in extreme summer heat may need frequent breaks for water and air conditioning due to heavy air. Maternal health during heat waves is often overlooked, even though pregnancy already adds stress to the body. Pregnancy can involve risks such as preterm birth, low birthweight, gestational diabetes, congenital anomalies, stillbirth, and preeclampsia. Heat affects the body differently during pregnancy, and trimester timing changes the thermal impact. In the first trimester, heat may affect healthy formation of the child or DNA sequencing. In the second trimester, heat may contribute to developmental issues including gestational diabetes. In the third trimester, environmental heat exposure may increase the likelihood of preterm birth before 37 weeks.

Read at www.amny.com