Critical: Hot Weather Threatens Infant Growth

Hot Weather Threatens Infant Growth
Hot Weather Threatens Infant Growth. Credit | Getty images

United States – Hot weather can be more than just uncomfortable and annoying: A new study shows it can have short-term effects on an infant’s development both prenatally as well as postnatally.

Low birth weight deliveries are eminent when an expecting mom receives more heat stress during the first trimester, the researchers also said, as reported by HealthDay.

In addition, the study established that infants who are frequently exposed to heat stress also grow slowly since increased heat stress routine exposures may halt the growth of growing infants.

Impaired Growth in Heat-Exposed Infants

Infants who were exposed to an average of 86 degrees Fahrenheit at the age of 1 are less when weighed for height and age compared to those who were exposed to an average of 77 degrees, the researchers discovered.

These studies extend prior data indicating that the first trimester is a period of sensitivity to heat and that we must now consider what may be driving the association, according to Dr. Ana Bonell, an assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Understanding the Impact of Heat on Development

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“Some heat stress effects on appetite, food intake, and availability are probable, and we are further examining whether cellular and inflammation effects may be the cases in addition to the decreased ability of pregnant mothers and infants to thermoregulate,” said Bonell in a school news report.

Research Insights from West Africa

In the current work, data gathered from 668 infants and their mothers in the West African country of Gambia between January 2010 and February 2015 have been used.

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Throughout the research, mothers and infants were subjected to an average temperature of almost 86 degrees, according to the researchers. The highest temperature was 114, and the lowest temperature reached only 84 degrees, as reported by HealthDay.

The Need for Public Health Action

“We need to explore which populations are projected to experience heat stress the most and where growth faltering may be being recorded to enable us to develop effective public health measures,” Bonell said. “With global rates of child wasting remaining unacceptably high and ongoing planetary warming, these findings must spur action on improving child health.”