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The impact of high ambient temperatures on delivery timing and gestational lengths

Author

Listed:
  • Alan Barreca

    (Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California–Los Angeles
    IZA Institute of Labor Economics
    National Bureau of Economic Research)

  • Jessamyn Schaller

    (National Bureau of Economic Research
    Robert Day School of Economics and Finance, Claremont McKenna College)

Abstract

Evidence suggests that heat exposure increases delivery risk for pregnant women. Acceleration of childbirth leads to shorter gestation, which has been linked to later health and cognitive outcomes. However, estimates of the aggregate gestational losses resulting from hot weather are lacking in the literature. Here, we use estimated shifts in daily county birth rates to quantify the gestational losses associated with heat in the United States from 1969 to 1988. We find that extreme heat causes an increase in deliveries on the day of exposure and on the following day and show that the additional births were accelerated by up to two weeks. We estimate that an average of 25,000 infants per year were born earlier as a result of heat exposure, with a total loss of more than 150,000 gestational days annually. Absent adaptation, climate projections suggest additional losses of 250,000 days of gestation per year by the end of the century.

Suggested Citation

  • Alan Barreca & Jessamyn Schaller, 2020. "The impact of high ambient temperatures on delivery timing and gestational lengths," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 77-82, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:10:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41558-019-0632-4
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-019-0632-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Luis Guillermo Becerra-Valbuena & Jorge A. Bonilla, 2021. "Climatic shocks, air quality, and health at birth in Bogotá," Working Papers halshs-03429482, HAL.
    2. Tamás Hajdu & Gábor Hajdu, 2022. "Temperature, climate change, and human conception rates: evidence from Hungary," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 1751-1776, October.
    3. Sam Cosaert & Adrián Nieto & Konstantinos Tatsiramos, 2023. "Temperature and Joint Time Use," CESifo Working Paper Series 10464, CESifo.
    4. Gulcan Cil & Jiyoon Kim, 2022. "Extreme temperatures during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes: Evidence from 2009 to 2018 U.S. national birth data," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(9), pages 1993-2024, September.
    5. Tamás Hajdu & Gábor Hajdu, 2021. "Post-conception heat exposure increases clinically unobserved pregnancy losses," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 2104, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    6. Sam Cosaert & Adrián Nieto & Konstantinos Tatsiramos, 2023. "Temperature and the Timing of Work," CESifo Working Paper Series 10681, CESifo.
    7. Sarah Syed & Tracey L. O’Sullivan & Karen P. Phillips, 2022. "Extreme Heat and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Scoping Review of the Epidemiological Evidence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-16, February.
    8. Tamás Hajdu & Gábor Hajdu, 2020. "Temperature, climate change and birth weight: Evidence from Hungary," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 2032, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    9. Hajdu, Tamás & Hajdu, Gábor, 2023. "Climate change and the mortality of the unborn," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    10. Ayako Morita & Akiko Shikano & Kazuaki Nakamura & Shingo Noi & Takeo Fujiwara, 2022. "Oxytocin Reactivity during a Wilderness Program without Parents in Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-11, November.
    11. Brian C. Thiede & Sara Ronnkvist & Anna Armao & Katrina Burka, 2022. "Climate anomalies and birth rates in sub-Saharan Africa," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 1-20, March.
    12. Luis Guillermo Becerra-Valbuena & Jorge A. Bonilla, 2021. "Climatic shocks, air quality, and health at birth in Bogotá," PSE Working Papers halshs-03429482, HAL.
    13. Ryne J. Veenema & Lori A. Hoepner & Laura A. Geer, 2023. "Climate Change-Related Environmental Exposures and Perinatal and Maternal Health Outcomes in the U.S," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-12, January.

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