Here’s another thing for pregnant ladies to worry about: the heat. According to a new study, getting too hot could increase the risk of premature delivery or stillbirth. And they define “too hot” pretty loosely.
ScienceDaily reports that Australian researchers studied average temperatures and number of premature and stillbirths in Brisbane over a four-year period. They found that increases in temperature also upped the risk of stillbirth, especially if the heat occurred within the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. Warm weather also increased the risk of premature birth, and even moderate heat was enough to produce an effect — researchers saw an increase in risk when the weekly average temperature topped 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
Study authors say this information may help women minimize their risks — says author Adrian Barnett, “Pregnant women should protect themselves from overheating to reduce the likelihood of pre-term or stillbirths.” Maybe this news will lead pregnant women to avoid extreme heat (Barnett notes that hot tub use is already discouraged) but can women really be expected to keep themselves cooled to below 73 degrees for the duration of their pregnancies? Let’s just seal moms-to-be into human-sized, climate-controlled boxes for nine months and have done with it.
Pregnant Women Advised To Stay Cool For Baby’s Sake: Australian Study [ScienceDaily]
Image via hkannn/Shutterstock.com