Expecting the Worse: Born on a Planet in Crisis

The International Climate Change Panel often points out that: Women are more vulnerable to climate change than men. Warmer temperatures and unpredictable weather can lead to increased risk of domestic violence, inadequate access to health care, and more. financial insecurity. But there is another, almost unnoticed layer of gender-specific impact on climate. Studies show that climate change is taking a serious physical toll on the child-bearing body, from menstruation to pregnancy and childbirth.

There are a variety of ways in which climate change can worsen health problems before, during, and after pregnancy. A pregnant person’s immune system shuts down during these critical nine months to avoid rejecting the growing fetus, making pregnant parents more vulnerable to climate-borne infectious diseases such as malaria. Exposure to extreme heat during pregnancy increases the likelihood of preterm birth, but the biological mechanisms of this relationship are not yet well understood. Rising sea levels can introduce salt into drinking water, which can lead to high blood pressure. This is a risk factor for premature birth and miscarriage during pregnancy. And for people undergoing infertility treatment, which involves very time-sensitive procedures, increasingly large and intense storms can make assisted pregnancies unpredictable.

After years of neglecting research into climate-related health conditions affecting pregnant women and sexual minorities, health care organizations are only just beginning to understand the scope of this threat. At a time when reproductive autonomy is under political attack, climate change is making having a uterus more dangerous.

Here you will find a series of stories to help you understand some of the serious impacts warming is having on people who can get pregnant. The full range of climate-related reproductive threats is vast, and this series does not cover all of them. Instead, it offers a series of snapshots, four windows into the lives of women who face unexpected dangers as they attempt to conceive, conceive, and give birth in a warm world. Their story is a warning to us all. —Zoya Tierstein