Climate change is rapidly increasing global temperatures, with significant impacts on Australia. The country is becoming increasingly vulnerable to high environmental temperatures, leading to a rise in health problems. For example, high temperatures such as heatwaves are contributing to adverse health impacts, including cardiovascular diseases, kidney diseases, mental illnesses, dehydration, and even mortality among older people, children, people with existing health problems, outdoor workers, and many others.
Pregnant women are particularly susceptible to these high temperatures. Exposure to high environmental temperatures can increase the risk of premature birth (born before 37 complete weeks of gestation), low birth weights (live births under 2,500g), stillbirths (babies who are 20 or more completed weeks of gestation or of 400 grams or more birthweight died before their birth or during labour), congenital disabilities (structural or functional defects that occur during intrauterine life and diagnosed prenatally, at birth or sometimes later in infancy), and neonatal deaths (death that occurs 0-28 days from birth). While adverse birth outcomes and high ambient temperatures have been linked globally, little is known about the impact of elevated temperatures on maternal/newborn health in Queensland. To fill this knowledge gap, this study investigates the associations between elevated temperatures and ABOs, including PTB, LBW, stillbirth, congenital anomalies, and neonatal deaths. Additionally, it examined the modifying effect of socioeconomic factors on these associations in Queensland, Australia.
The project is also investigating heat action plans worldwide and providing recommendations to improve Queensland's heatwave management subplan from a maternal health perspective. So far, the project has suggested some recommendations to enhance the Queensland heatwave management sub-plan. These
recommendations include targeting heat health messages for the pregnant population, disseminating heat health information targeting the maternal population, and providing heat health education to pregnant women. Additionally, the project recommends including target heat preventive and adaption interventions to protect Queensland maternal and newborn populations from extreme heat.
Research Outcomes
The outcomes of interest of this study include a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between high environmental temperatures and adverse birth outcomes in Queensland. The outcome of this research will shed light on how maternal socioeconomic factors can affect this relationship. Furthermore, the findings of this research can help enhance the Queensland heatwave management sub-plan by providing insights into heat prevention and adaptation measures for maternal and newborn health.
Research Outputs
Conference Presentations
2022 Australian Medical Research Council conference: Effect of high ambient temperature on adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes.
2022 School of Public Health, The University of Queensland: Heat health impact on pregnant women and newborns.
2023 The Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health Focus Meeting: A content analysis of heat action plans on maternal and health perspective.
2023 School of Public Health/Poche Centre for Indigenous Health/Centre for Health Services Research HDR Conference: Effects of maternal exposure to elevated ambient temperature on adverse birth and pregnancy outcomes in Queensland.
Dalugoda, Y., Vilcins, D., Darssan, D., Phung, D. (2023). Protecting pregnant women and newborns from the health effects of extreme heat: A content analysis of heat health action plans on maternal and newborn health perspective (Online presentation). Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health, Focus Meeting, 30-31October 2023, Louisiana state university, Louisiana, USA.
Dalugoda, Y., Vilcins, D., Darssan, D., Phung, D. (2024). Spatiotemporal Association Between Temperatures and Adverse Birth Outcomes and the Modification Effect of Socioeconomic Factors in Queensland, Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) Annual Research Forum, Brisbane, Australia, 6 December 2024.
Dalugoda, Y., Vilcins, D., Darssan, D., Phung, D. (2025). “Associations between maternal exposure to ambient temperature and adverse birth outcomes, and potential modifying effects of socioeconomic factors in Queensland. Abstract-Accepted to present at ISES-ISEE conference 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, August 17-20, 2025
This was a HDR project for graduated PhD student Yohani Dalugoda.
