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By Aayushi Sharma
Claim: Studies saying that ‘climate change affects the mental health of unborn children’ is a climate scam.
Fact: Experts have concluded that climate change does affect the mental health of unborn children.
What does the post say?
An X account shared a screenshot of a research article titled, “Impacts of climate change threaten children’s mental health starting before birth,” and contradicted the fact stated in it that climate change is impacting the mental health of unborn babies. The caption of the X post read, “So now UNBORN BABIES already have mental health issues because of climate change when will this END? #ClimateScam #ClimateBoiling”.
What we found?
Climate change has a huge impact on the mental health of unborn children. According to the report released by the American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica, “Young people are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which can occur before birth and sometimes irreversibly disrupt normal physiological, cognitive, and emotional development.”
Extreme weather events brought on by climate change have been shown to disrupt normal fetal development. This can increase the risk of anxiety or depression, ADHD, educational deficits, low self-control, and psychiatric disorders in later life. As kids get older, the list of potential mental health issues linked to climate change grows, the report says. Furthermore, a number of factors, including poverty, racism, gender, disability, and others, make some child populations even more vulnerable.
Ways in which climate change affects fetal development
Heat stress
Pregnant women are severely vulnerable to environmental challenges. The physiological alterations to the mother’s respiratory and cardiovascular systems, as well as adjustments to her endocrine and immune systems, are responsible for this vulnerability. An increasing amount of epidemiological research shows that heat stress in the environment can have a negative impact on pregnancy outcomes. Furthermore, heat stress may disrupt the preconceptional stage, leading to irregular menstrual cycles and lower fertility rates. Heat stress has a multitude of negative effects on one’s personal, social, and financial well-being, making it a serious threat to reproductive health.
Source: frontiers.in
Heat exposure has also been linked to an increased risk of unfavorable pregnancy outcomes, in addition to the effects of heat stress on women prior to conception. In addition to stillbirth, these include low birth weight, premature delivery, and congenital cardiac defects, all of which present significant risks to the unborn child and may result in lifelong health problems. Thus, heat stress caused by an increased ambient temperature can result in adverse pregnancy outcomes, e.g., preterm birth, stillbirth and low fetal weight.
Respiratory illness
Climate change may lead to an increase in outdoor air pollutants, including ground-level ozone, smoke from wildfires, and dust from droughts. Like other vulnerable groups, pregnant women are susceptible to the negative effects of smoke from wildfires. They ought to go above and beyond to limit their exposure to smoke from wildfires, as this may have an impact on the growing fetus and increase the risk of low birth weight and premature delivery.
Water related illness
Water resources will be impacted by climate change in numerous ways. Drinking water supplies may become contaminated by disease-carrying organisms due to various factors such as temperature changes in the air and water, increased precipitation, flooding, and sea level rise. Any individual can get gastrointestinal and other illnesses from drinking or coming into contact with untreated contaminated water, but pregnant women are more likely than other adults to get gastrointestinal illnesses from contaminated water. Preterm birth and pregnancy loss can result from severe gastrointestinal illnesses.
Mental illness
Extreme weather-related trauma can exacerbate mental health conditions, increase psychological stress, and add emotional strain to expectant and new mothers. According to one study, women were more likely than men to experience PTSD and other negative effects on their mental health following a disaster. Extreme weather events can also interfere with access to treatment, behavioral health services, and support systems, all of which can impair women’s capacity for coping.
References:
https://x.com/MelissaLMRogers/status/1713733629573296130?s=20
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2023.1149284
https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3811
https://health2016.globalchange.gov/mental-health-and-well-being
