Rise in miscarriages linked to climate change - study
A University of KwaZulu-Natal study has linked climate change to an increase in miscarriages in sub-Saharan Africa.
Four UKZN scientists found that warmer temperatures lead to the worsening of women's reproductive health issues.
It's leading to more losses in pregnancies.
Over two decades, the scientists studied the relationship between maternal heat exposure and miscarriages in a rural community in the uMkhanyakude District.
Dr Yoshan Moodley says they used data from the Africa Health Research Institute and the SA Weather Service.
"Women who are exposed to high temperatures during the month before conceiving a pregnancy were more likely to have a miscarriage, and this ultimately suggests that there may, in fact, be some sort of a relationship between high temperatures and damage to human eggs."
The region was chosen because it faces two critical public health issues affecting women of childbearing age, one being - a high maternal mortality ratio of 650 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
He said the first step in prevention is recognising the link between climate change, global warming, and pregnancy outcomes.
"It serves as a change for policy and intervention by the government as well as the government deciding pong the various mechanisms that they can put in place to mitigate the health risks opposed by increasing temperatures.”
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