Nearly three-quarters of maternal healthcare professionals worldwide say they are dealing with more heat-related complications in pregnant patients, according to a new survey released at a pre-COP31 event in Fiji. The findings, drawn from 1,000 healthcare workers across Australia, Brazil, India, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe, have prompted UN climate leaders to describe pregnancy and childbirth as a “new faultline” in the global climate crisis.
The survey found that 73% of respondents had treated heat-related cases or complications affecting pregnant women, while almost every participant reported caring for a pregnant woman or newborn whose health they believed had been affected by extreme heat. Seventy-six percent said they had seen an increase in heat affecting fetal or newborn health over the past five years. Among the specific problems reported were low birth weight or restricted fetal growth (34%), dehydration and heat-related illness in newborns (36%), and difficulties with feeding, breathing and temperature regulation (33%). The survey also cited research linking every 1°C rise in temperature to a 5% increase in premature births and a 7% increase in gestational diabetes.
Climate change is increasingly becoming a maternal health crisis, particularly for women living in displacement and poverty.
Mabel Adinya Ade (Executive Director of the Adinya Arise Foundation, Nigeria)
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, speaking in Fiji at the survey’s launch, said the data painted a clear and troubling picture. “Rising temperatures mean rising danger in pregnancy,” he said, adding that “staying cool” is not a realistic option for many women globally. Twenty-seven percent of survey respondents said extreme heat was making it harder for pregnant women to travel to or access care, and 29% reported an increase in urgent or emergency presentations. Mabel Adinya Ade, Executive Director of the Nigerian nonprofit Adinya Arise Foundation, told Earth.Org that heat, inadequate shelter, limited water and disrupted healthcare were compounding risks for vulnerable mothers in Nigeria, calling for maternal healthcare systems to become climate-resilient.
The survey highlighted significant gaps in healthcare preparedness, with 92% of respondents saying they wanted more training and resources to protect pregnant patients during extreme heat events. Those who launched the survey called for pregnancy and newborn health to be prioritized in national climate and health plans, including specific protective measures, World Health Organization clinical guidance on heat and pregnancy, and improved data collection. Julia Gillard, Chair of Wellcome and former Prime Minister of Australia, said at the launch that no woman should have to fear that extreme heat will harm the baby she is carrying.
The issue is expected to feature at COP31, scheduled for November in Antalya, Turkey, which will include a high-level gender event and an in-session dialogue on Gender Day covering pregnancy and childbirth. The Gender Action Plan agreed at COP30 in Belém last year also included commitments to greater gender-responsiveness across climate finance and policy areas.