Health & Medicine
Mothers-to-Be Should Beat the Heat, High Temperatures Linked to Premature Births
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Apr 15, 2013 01:05 PM EDT
With summer just around the corner, some studies are cautioning mothers-to-be to stay out of the heat as much as possible. A link between heat stress and premature birth shows that it's best to keep cool at all times.
College of Health & Biomedicine researcher Associate Professor Mary Carolan said preterm birth is an increasingly common and debilitating condition. Her research shows an association between high temperatures and preterm birth at less than 37 weeks gestation, adding that as global warming continues to increase temperatures, the problem could become a more serious issue.
"Rates appear to be linked to high environmental temperature, and more especially heat stress, which may be experienced during extreme heat or following a sudden rise in temperature," Carolan said. "When this happens, the body may be unable to adapt quickly to the change."
"This situation makes it important that research effort is directed to understanding the degree of association and the mechanism by which high temperature and temperature increases impact on preterm birth," she said.
"In the meantime, it is important that pregnant women take special precautions to avoid heat stress and to keep cool when there are sudden increases in temperature."
Drinking extra fluids and not undertaking strenuous exercise during the hottest months of the year or times of the day will help future mothers prevent any problems. Staying in air-conditioned areas whenever possible will also provide much needed relief during warm weather, as well as taking cool showers after heat exposure and using coolers and fans, according to Carolan.
The study was published in the journal Midwifery.
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First Posted: Apr 15, 2013 01:05 PM EDT
With summer just around the corner, some studies are cautioning mothers-to-be to stay out of the heat as much as possible. A link between heat stress and premature birth shows that it's best to keep cool at all times.
College of Health & Biomedicine researcher Associate Professor Mary Carolan said preterm birth is an increasingly common and debilitating condition. Her research shows an association between high temperatures and preterm birth at less than 37 weeks gestation, adding that as global warming continues to increase temperatures, the problem could become a more serious issue.
"Rates appear to be linked to high environmental temperature, and more especially heat stress, which may be experienced during extreme heat or following a sudden rise in temperature," Carolan said. "When this happens, the body may be unable to adapt quickly to the change."
"This situation makes it important that research effort is directed to understanding the degree of association and the mechanism by which high temperature and temperature increases impact on preterm birth," she said.
"In the meantime, it is important that pregnant women take special precautions to avoid heat stress and to keep cool when there are sudden increases in temperature."
Drinking extra fluids and not undertaking strenuous exercise during the hottest months of the year or times of the day will help future mothers prevent any problems. Staying in air-conditioned areas whenever possible will also provide much needed relief during warm weather, as well as taking cool showers after heat exposure and using coolers and fans, according to Carolan.
The study was published in the journal Midwifery.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone