We are unprepared for more frequent and intense heatwaves – and pregnant women are at particular risk
4 min read
As temperatures soared across the UK last month, many will have revelled in the sunshine. But for pregnant women the risks rose with the thermometer.
A growing body of evidence shows high temperatures increase the risk of premature birth, low birth weight and other serious complications. Despite this, expectant mothers are rarely warned of the dangers, and some are even forced to give birth and recover on wards without basic cooling.
Amid the murk and drizzle of a British winter, it may not always feel like it, but the UK is becoming a hot country. Legislation, and crucially the country’s health infrastructure, are not keeping up.
The Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) latest assessment shows the UK is on track to exceed 2°C of warming in the coming decades, which means heatwaves pushing towards 45°C, lasting longer and occurring more often, alongside periods of drought and flooding. As the committee makes clear, “the UK was built for a climate that no longer exists”.
This is not just about upgrading buildings; it is about people being able to live safely and well.
And here is where the UK’s lack of preparedness will harm health and even cost lives – especially for the most vulnerable in society.
When I was pregnant during the 1983 heatwave, even 28°C felt unbearable. Today, London can reach over 35°C. But heat stress isn’t defined by a fixed temperature – it’s how far conditions deviate from what our bodies are used to. This means that, far from being confined to the hyper-hot countries of the global south, the risk to pregnant women applies all over the world. In practice, this means those living in temperate climates such as the UK may already be facing worse health outcomes.
However, pregnant women are still not consistently recognised in heat-health planning, there is a lack of clear guidance for maternity professionals, and little public communication about the risks from hot temperatures.
This is a symptom of a bigger problem. And it raises a terrifying question: if the health system cannot protect an easily identifiable high-risk group from heatwaves now, how will we cope in the future when things get much worse? Yet it doesn’t seem to be on the government’s radar, as demonstrated by the vague response to a question I raised in the Lords last month, which tepidly acknowledged high temperatures could be a factor in poor birth outcomes but bracketed it with a host of other known risks. Any sense of urgency to tackle the specific issue was entirely missing.
Yet there is so much that can be done to alleviate the impact of extreme heat. A new Wellcome report, published to coincide with the CCC’s findings, sets out practical actions that would have real-world impacts. There are quick wins; such as improving guidance for clinicians and recognising the vulnerability of pregnant women in heat-health planning, guidance and policy frameworks.
Climate change is here and is a growing health risk
Longer-term steps are also essential, for example building heat resilience into maternity care reforms as well as making sure hospitals and clinics can stay cool. These are not complex interventions, but they do require urgent co-ordination, resources and political will.
Maternity-related reforms should constitute a spur to action, both to make immediate improvements and to ensure that maternity care is resilient into the future.
Climate change is here and is a growing health risk. While decarbonising our economy and cutting emissions is essential to avert the worst effects of the climate crisis, the CCC’s assessment hammers home the point that we are no longer faced with the question of whether the UK should adapt, but how quickly it can do so and who will be protected in the process.
While we cannot prevent all future heatwaves, we must do more than just hope they don’t happen. Decisions we make now will decide how prepared we are and whether pregnant women and their babies are protected from rising temperatures – or are left exposed to known risks that we had the opportunity to reduce but chose not to.
Baroness Boycott is a crossbench peer and vice-chair of Peers for the Planet
