We are studying the biology of how high temperature and other environmental conditions affect the health of pregnant and postpartum women, fathers, and their infants.
Our conceptual framework on heat-health impacts of heat on pregnant women and children
Biological sample research
HIGH Horizons researchers at the University of Thessaly in Greece are collecting data via questionnaires, biological samples such as blood and breast milk, and environmental temperature readings from women starting in the first trimester of pregnancy until a year after giving birth, as well as from fathers and infants.
They are looking for biological markers associated with heat exposure which might have an impact on the health of women and infants, analysing biological samples and asking questions such as:
What happens inside the cell when the temperature rises?
Can we find changes in the blood?
How do these changes affect proteins in the cell?
If the researchers find a biological marker that is different in a high temperature environment, it could help us determine who may be at risk of conditions like a heat stroke during pregnancy.
This is one of the first studies of its kind to look at humans. Until now, researchers have mostly studied this phenomenon in animals.
Into the future
The findings could help health workers gain a clearer understanding of how the body responds to heat. It will also provide them information they need to more effectively protect vulnerable populations of pregnant women and children from the effects of heat. For example, if health workers know that heat plays a role in increasing the risk of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, they will be able to develop strategies to prevent complications.
The researchers also hope their findings will be used to empower women with knowledge to protect themselves and their infants.
In the future, they intend to document changes in the body through the whole life span.
Our long-term vision is to continuously study the effects of prenatal heat stress throughout a child’s development through to adulthood.
Prof. Christos Hadjichristodoulou Professor of Hygiene and Epidemiology at the School of Medicine University of Thessaly HIGH Horizons senior researcher
Resources
Greek HIGH Horizons website
Blog: Greek Team join HIGH Horizons in a bid to improve understanding of heat and pregnancy physiology
