Heatwaves are among the most important global public health challenges of our time. Yet we know little about how exposure to heatwaves (as opposed to hot days) affects health at birth, which is a key contributor to health, development, and well-being in later life. This study addresses this shortcoming by investigating the relationship between in utero exposure to heatwave and birthweight by assessing both the timing and mechanisms of heatwave effects. I use novel georeferenced survey data on birth and pregnancy outcomes from the latest round of the Demographic and Health Surveys to link the birth outcomes of 64,210 infants across 11 sub-Saharan African countries with high-resolution daily climate data. I find that infants exposed to heatwave in the third trimester of gestation had significantly lower birthweight and that this effect is mediated by reduced gestational age at birth instead of reduced intrauterine growth. The effect of heatwave is concentrated among male babies and mothers with no or little formal education. By highlighting how exposure to environmental conditions early in life shapes health outcomes with far-reaching consequences, the findings carry lessons for policymakers to protect pregnant women from heatwave exposure to mitigate the negative impact of climate change.

中文翻译：

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气候冲击对健康的影响：热浪如何降低撒哈拉以南非洲地区的出生体重

热浪是当今时代最重要的全球公共卫生挑战之一。然而，我们对暴露于热浪（而不是炎热的日子）如何影响出生时的健康知之甚少，而出生时的健康是晚年健康、发育和福祉的关键因素。本研究通过评估热浪影响的时间和机制来调查子宫内热浪暴露与出生体重之间的关系，从而解决了这一缺点。我使用最新一轮人口与健康调查中关于出生和妊娠结果的新颖地理参考调查数据，将 11 个撒哈拉以南非洲国家 64,210 名婴儿的出生结果与高分辨率每日气候数据联系起来。我发现在妊娠晚期暴露于热浪的婴儿出生体重显着降低，这种影响是由于出生时胎龄降低而不是宫内生长减少所致。热浪的影响主要集中在没有或很少受过正规教育的男婴和母亲身上。通过强调生命早期暴露于环境条件如何影响健康结果并产生深远影响，研究结果为政策制定者提供了教训，以保护孕妇免受热浪暴露，从而减轻气候变化的负面影响。