Last Update: 04/05/2026 at 2:50 PM EST
Heat Raises Birth Risk In Pakistan
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04/01
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Executive Summary
Extreme heat during pregnancy is linked to more low-birth-weight babies in Pakistan, with the highest risk in hotter, poorer provinces
- A BMC Medicine study analyzed data from more than 85,000 mothers and babies in Pakistan
- Pregnancy exposure to extreme heat was linked to higher low-birth-weight risk
- In some areas, the risk was up to 70 percent higher after hotter exposure
- About 18 percent of babies in the dataset had low birth weight
- Up to 13 percent of low-birth-weight cases were attributed to hot weather
- The heat-attributable burden is projected to rise 8 to 10 percent by the 2060s
- Southern Punjab, northern Sindh and Balochistan were identified as high-vulnerability provinces
Quick Facts
- What: Study links pregnancy heat exposure to low birth weight
- Where: Pakistan, especially Southern Punjab, northern Sindh and Balochistan
- Why: Hotter temperatures and poverty deepen risks for newborn health
- Who: University of Adelaide researchers and Pakistan mothers and babies
- When: Birth records from 2008 to 2017 were analyzed
Coverage Timeline: 940 Days
Featured Article
A BMC Medicine study by University of Adelaide researchers reports extreme heat exposure during pregnancy increases low birth weight risk in Pakistan using 2008-2017 health data.
Additional Articles
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Pakistan health systems face rising heat related illness and flood driven disease in Sindh's Jacobabad and Hyderabad during the 2030s.
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A BMC Medicine study of Pakistan mothers and babies finds pregnancy heat exposure increases low-birth-weight risk and highlights province-level heat vulnerability.
Large studies associate late-pregnancy heat exposure and air pollution with higher preterm birth risk, potentially via placental blood flow and inflammatory pathways.