İklim Değişikliği: Gebelik ve Yenidoğan Sağlığı

Öz

İklim değişikliği, günümüzde halk sağlığını tehdit eden önemli küresel sorunlardan biri olup, etkileri özellikle savunmasız gruplar üzerinde daha belirgin şekilde ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bu gruplar arasında gebeler ve yenidoğanlar yer almaktadır. Gebelikte meydana gelen fizyolojik ve anatomik değişimler; artan sıcaklıklar, hava kirliliği, aşırı hava olayları ve kaynak kıtlığı gibi iklim değişikliğine bağlı çevresel faktörlerle etkileşime girerek olumsuz maternal, fetal ve neonatal sağlık sonuçlarına yol açabilmektedir. Literatürde, iklimle ilişkili çevresel maruziyetlerin preterm doğum, düşük doğum ağırlığı, ölü doğum, gestasyonel diyabet ve diğer perinatal komplikasyonlarla ilişkili olduğu belirtilmektedir. Yenidoğanlar ise gelişmemiş bağışıklık sistemleri ve sınırlı termoregülasyon kapasiteleri nedeniyle iklim değişikliğinin etkilerine karşı daha savunmasızdırlar. Sonuç olarak iklim değişikliğinin gebe ve yenidoğan sağlığına etkilerinin incelenmesi ve bu konuda sağlık çalışanlarının rol ve sorumluluklarının tanımlanması önemlidir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İklim Değişikliği
• Gebelik
• Yenidoğan
• Sağlık Çalışanları

Climate Change: Pregnancy and Newborn Health

Öz

Climate change is one of the major global challenges threatening public health today, with its impacts disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. Among these groups, pregnant individuals and newborns are at particularly high risk. Physiological and anatomical changes occurring during pregnancy may interact with climate change–related environmental factors such as rising temperatures, air pollution, extreme weather events, and resource scarcity, leading to adverse maternal, fetal, and neonatal health outcomes. The literature indicates that climate-related environmental exposures are associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, stillbirth, gestational diabetes, and other perinatal complications. Newborns are especially vulnerable to the direct and indirect effects of climate change due to their immature immune systems and limited thermoregulatory capacity. Therefore, clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of health professionals is essential for protecting and promoting both maternal and newborn health in the context of climate change.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Climate Change
• Pregnancy
• Newborn
• Health Professionals

Kaynakça

1. Amekpor, F., Sakariyau, W., Kengo, N. E., Sandra, N. A., Agyapong, J., Dauda, Z., Kwarteng, S., Adedokun, D. A., & Darko, G. (2025). Integrating Maternal and Child Health Into Climate Change: A Holistic Approach. Public health reviews, 45, 1607553. https://doi.org/10.3389/phrs.2024.1607553
2. Attawet, J., Bhandari, P., Lewis, T., Wang, C., & Qiu, Y. (2025). Midwives' preparedness for climate change impacts on maternal and child health: A scoping review. Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives, 38(6), 102112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2025.102112
3. Barreca, A., & Schaller, J. (2020). The impact of high ambient temperatures on delivery timing and gestational lengths. Nature Climate Change, 10(1), 77–82. DOI: 10.1016/j.wombi.2025.102112
4. Basu, R., Malig, B., & Ostro, B. (2010). High ambient temperature and the risk of preterm delivery. American journal of epidemiology, 172(10), 1108–1117. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwq170
5. Bekkar, B., Pacheco, S., Basu, R., & DeNicola, N. (2020). Association of Air Pollution and Heat Exposure With Preterm Birth, Low Birth Weight, and Stillbirth in the US: A Systematic Review. JAMA network open, 3(6), e208243. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.8243
6. Bhandari, D., Robinson, E., Pollock, W., Watterson, J., Su, T. T., & Lokmic-Tomkins, Z. (2025). Mapping multilevel adaptation response to protect maternal and child health from climate change impacts: A scoping review. iScience, 28(3), 111914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.111914
7. Braun, C. B., Rasmussen, S. A., & Jamieson, D. J. (2025). Climate Change and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Systematic Approach to Reviewing the Data. Birth defects research, 117(6), e2493. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.2493
8. Campbell-Lendrum, D., Neville, T., Schweizer, C., & Neira, M. (2023). Climate change and health: three grand challenges. Nature medicine, 29(7), 1631–1638. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02438-w

9. CDC. (2021). Climate Change Indicators: Heat Waves. Climate Change Indicators 2021.
10. Chalupka, S. M., Latter, A., & Trombley, J. (2023). Climate and Environmental Change: A Generation at Risk. MCN. The American journal of maternal child nursing, 48(4), 181–187. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMC.0000000000000924
11. Chersich, M. F., Pham, M. D., Areal, A., Haghighi, M. M., Manyuchi, A., Swift, C. P., Wernecke, B., Robinson, M., Hetem, R., Boeckmann, M., Hajat, S., & Climate Change and Heat-Health Study Group (2020). Associations between high temperatures in pregnancy and risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirths: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 371, m3811. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m3811
12. Conway, F., Portela, A., Filippi, V., Chou, D., & Kovats, S. (2024). Climate change, air pollution and maternal and newborn health: An overview of reviews of health outcomes. Journal of global health, 14, 04128. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.14.04128
13. Dağlı, E., Reyhan, F. A., & Kırca, A. Ş. (2024). Midwives' views about the effects of climate change on maternal and child health: A qualitative study. Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives, 37(2), 451–457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2024.02.001
14. Dzau, V. J., Levine, R., Barrett, G., & Witty, A. (2021). Decarbonizing the U.S. Health Sector - A Call to Action. The New England journal of medicine, 385(23), 2117–2119. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2115675
15. Fan, W., & Zlatnik, M. G. (2023). Climate Change and Pregnancy: Risks, Mitigation, Adaptation, and Resilience. Obstetrical & gynecological survey, 78(4), 223–236. https://doi.org/10.1097/OGX.0000000000001116
16. Ganapathy, D., Tzeli, M., & Vivilaki, V. (2024). Midwives: Essential guardians in the climate crisis journey. European journal of midwifery, 8, 10.18332/ejm/188196. https://doi.org/10.18332/ejm/188196
17. Giudice, L. C., Llamas-Clark, E. F., DeNicola, N., Pandipati, S., Zlatnik, M. G., Decena, D. C. D., Woodruff, T. J., Conry, J. A., & FIGO Committee on Climate Change and Toxic Environmental Exposures (2021). Climate change, women's health, and the role of obstetricians and gynecologists in leadership. International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 155(3), 345–356. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.13958
18. Ha S. (2022). The Changing Climate and Pregnancy Health. Current environmental health reports, 9(2), 263–275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-022-00345-9
19. IPCC. (2021). Summary for policymakers. In Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Cambridge University Press.
20. IPCC. (2022a). Climate change 2022: mitigation of climate change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.
21. IPCC. (2022b). Climate change 2022: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.
22. Kaya, L., Keles, E., Baydili, K. N., Kaya, Z., & Kumru, P. (2025). Impact of Climate Change Education on Pregnant Women's Anxiety and Awareness. Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.), 42(1), 54–60. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.13455
23. Kircher, M., Doheny, B. M., Raab, K., Onello, E., Gingerich, S., & Potter, T. (2022). Understanding the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare professionals toward climate change and health in Minnesota. Challenges, 13(2), 57. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe13020057
24. Lakhoo, D. P., Brink, N., Radebe, L., Craig, M. H., Pham, M. D., Haghighi, M. M., Wise, A., Solarin, I., Luchters, S., Maimela, G., Chersich, M. F., Heat-Health Study Group, & HIGH Horizons Study Group (2025). A systematic review and meta-analysis of heat exposure impacts on maternal, fetal and neonatal health. Nature medicine, 31(2), 684–694. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03395-8
25. Li, X., Ma, J., Cheng, Y., Feng, L., Wang, S., & Dong, G. (2023). The relationship between extreme ambient temperature and small for gestational age: A cohort study of 1,436,480 singleton term births in China. Environmental research, 232, 116412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.116412
26. Malley, C. S., Kuylenstierna, J. C., Vallack, H. W., Henze, D. K., Blencowe, H., & Ashmore, M. R. (2017). Preterm birth associated with maternal fine particulate matter exposure: A global, regional and national assessment. Environment international, 101, 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2017.01.023
27. Meherali, S., Nisa, S., Aynalem, Y. A., Kennedy, M., Salami, B., Adjorlolo, S., Ali, P., Silva, K. L., Aziato, L., Richter, S., & Lassi, Z. S. (2024). Impact of climate change on maternal health outcomes: An evidence gap map review. PLOS global public health, 4(8), e0003540. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003540
28. Nakstad, B., Filippi, V., Lusambili, A., Roos, N., Scorgie, F., Chersich, M. F., Luchters, S., & Kovats, S. (2022). How Climate Change May Threaten Progress in Neonatal Health in the African Region. Neonatology, 119(5), 644–651. https://doi.org/10.1159/000525573
29. Nyadanu, S. D., Tessema, G. A., Dunne, J., Roy, A., & Pereira, G. (2025). Maternal climate-related exposures and prolonged pregnancy. Urban Climate, 59, 102316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2025.102316
30. Olson, D. M., & Metz, G. A. S. (2020). Climate change is a major stressor causing poor pregnancy outcomes and child development. F1000Research, 9, F1000 Faculty Rev-1222. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.27157.1
31. Özkan, A., Kolcu, M., Yilmaz, A., & Akbaş, G. (2025). Is Ecological Anxiety Due to Climate Change Associated With the Fertility Preferences of Women?. Journal of evaluation in clinical practice, 31(1), e14265. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.14265
32. Pandipati, S., Leong, M., Basu, R., Abel, D., Hayer, S., & Conry, J. (2023). Climate change: Overview of risks to pregnant persons and their offspring. Seminars in perinatology, 47(8), 151836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semperi.2023.151836
33. Persson, I., Sturm, A., Manchikanti, S., Nilsson, M., Ebi, K. L., Solomon, A., et al. (2025). Impacts of climate change during pregnancy, perinatal period and infancy. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 9(1), e002895. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2024-002895.
34. Roos, N., Kovats, S., Hajat, S., Filippi, V., Chersich, M., Luchters, S., Scorgie, F., Nakstad, B., Stephansson, O., & CHAMNHA Consortium (2021). Maternal and newborn health risks of climate change: A call for awareness and global action. Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica, 100(4), 566–570. https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.14124
35. Veenema, R. J., Hoepner, L. A., & Geer, L. A. (2023). Climate Change-Related Environmental Exposures and Perinatal and Maternal Health Outcomes in the U.S. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(3), 1662. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031662
36. Watts, N., Amann, M., Arnell, N., Ayeb-Karlsson, S., Beagley, J., Belesova, K., Boykoff, M., Byass, P., Cai, W., Campbell-Lendrum, D., Capstick, S., Chambers, J., Coleman, S., Dalin, C., Daly, M., Dasandi, N., Dasgupta, S., Davies, M., Di Napoli, C., Dominguez-Salas, P., … Costello, A. (2021). The 2020 report of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: responding to converging crises. Lancet (London, England), 397(10269), 129–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32290-X
37. World Health Organization. (2023). Climate change. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health
38. Zaman, A., Fadlalmola, H. A., Ibrahem, S. E., Ismail, F. H., Abedelwahed, H. H., Ali, A. M., Abdelgadim, N. H., Mustafa, A. M. A., Ahmed, I. H., Ahmed, N. M., Eltyeb, A. A., Gaafar, D. A., Alnassry, S. M., Adam, A. A., Yasin, N. S., Ali, R. A., Fadlalla, A. A., Eltayeb, A. E., & Saad, A. M. (2025). The role of antenatal education on maternal self-efficacy, fear of childbirth, and birth outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. European journal of midwifery, 9, 10.18332/ejm/200747. https://doi.org/10.18332/ejm/200747