Q&A: Heat, wildfire smoke exposure during pregnancy may lower birth weight

Key takeaways:

Wildfire smoke and heat impact infant size — a growing concern with climate change.

This is especially true for those living in climate-vulnerable neighborhoods, which could further exacerbate inequities.

Exposure to heat stress and wildfire smoke during pregnancy can lead to adverse birth outcomes, highlighting another health consequence of climate change , according to an expert.

Roxana Khalili, PhD , a postdoctoral researcher at Keck School of Medicine’s department of population and public health sciences, and colleagues published a study in Environmental Science and Technology revealing the connection.

They found higher levels of exposure impacted birthweight, and the associations were stronger for people who live in climate-vulnerable neighborhoods. Underrep