AKU
Media Source: Geo News (Pakistan)
Date: 9 July 2024
Climate change is impacting the world with rising temperatures, heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, and heavy rains. Pakistan, too, is experiencing these changes with record-breaking heat but how does climate change, particularly rising temperatures, affect the health of pregnant women and their babies? Geo Digital inte
Climate change is impacting the world with rising temperatures, heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, and heavy rains. Pakistan, too, is experiencing these changes with record-breaking heat but how does climate change, particularly rising temperatures, affect the health of pregnant women and their babies? Geo Digital interviewed Professor and Gynecologist Nadeem Zuberi from Aga Khan University. He explained that continuous temperature fluctuations have severe effects on pregnant women and the unborn babies, potentially endangering their lives. "During pregnancy, a woman's body undergoes various changes. All organs work differently, but during heatwaves, their breathing pattern changes. As women go through the process of becoming mothers, their oxygen demand and heart rate also changes". According to medical experts, these body changes make pregnant women especially vulnerable during heatwaves. "Lack of oxygen affects the baby's development, increases chances of premature birth, and raises the risk of miscarriage," Dr Zuberi said.