Stating that climate change is false does nothing to stop it. Head in or head out of that roadrunner hole in the ground, the Earth is getting warmer. And, extreme heat threatens maternal and infant health.

From Climate Central’s recent report, there are multiple pregnancy risks associated with climate change. As the number of days of higher temperature increase, so does the risk of complications, such as: 

• hypertension
• gestational diabetes
• maternal hospitalizations
• severe maternal morbidity
• stillbirth
• pre-term birth

Individuals living in poverty, and those in historically under-resourced areas of the United States and abroad are at a higher risk of these effects. Politics should not get in the way of the prevention of unnecessary deaths—but they do.

However, the facts about the dangers of climate change must not be ignored. Thy must be addressed by the next administration in order to attempt to reverse the harmful effects caused by disbelief.

[Data source for CBW charts: Climate Central data page]