How climate change is increasing complication risks for pregnant women
While extreme heat can be dangerous for anybody, pregnant women are particularly at risk — and according to a report released last week, climate change is making things worse.
The analysis, from the nonprofit Climate Central, found that climate change nearly doubled the average number of "pregnancy heat-risk days" — extremely hot days linked to an increased risk of preterm birth — in the U.S. from 2020 to 2024.
"These are the days when pregnant women are at increased risk for a number of different complications — so heat stroke, heat exhaustion," Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, said on "CBS Mornings Plus" Tuesday. "If you have these kinds of symptoms in a pregnant woman, it's even more concerning, because you can have other complications like preterm birth."
Heat can have such an impact because pregnancy puts major stress on the heart.
"You're more likely to get dehydrated during pregnancy. You have an increase in your blood volume during pregnancy, and so being dehydrated, being exposed to extra heat, you're working that much harder to keep yourself and your baby cool," Gounder said.
While it's important to be aware of temperatures throughout an entire pregnancy, Gounder said it's especially important during the third trimester, which can be hardest on the body. It's also when the risk of extreme heat causes the most number of complications, she added.
Finding ways to stay cool should also be top of mind, Gounder said, especially as resources related to heat safety are being cut.
"You're going to have to stay on top of this a whole lot more, because some of the surveillance that was being done by NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), by the CDC, is now being cut by the Trump administration," Gounder said. "That is part of their job — to do the surveillance and let people know and to have those cooling centers open and ready to welcome people."
In February, more than 800 employees were dismissed from NOAA, the nation's primary hub for weather and climate information that is considered the authority on forecasting, storm tracking and climate monitoring. The job cuts were part of a federal cost-cutting initiative by the Trump administration and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Also under the DOGE initiative were cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including large agencies like the CDC, the nation's public health agency, which is responsible for protecting Americans from disease outbreaks and other public health threats, tracking health trends and developing health and safety guidelines.
To help stay cool, Gounder suggests not over exerting yourself on hot days, finding a shady place to take breaks when outside and seeking spaces like a public library if you need to cool down further.
Sara Moniuszko
Sara Moniuszko is a health and lifestyle reporter at CBSNews.com. Previously, she wrote for USA Today, where she was selected to help launch the newspaper's wellness vertical. She now covers breaking and trending news for CBS News' HealthWatch.
contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Exact Sciences Schedules Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Call
MADISON, Wis., July 14, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS), a leading provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, today announced that the company plans to release its second quarter 2025 financial results after the close of the U.S. financial markets on August 6, 2025. Following the release, company management will host a webcast and conference call at 5 p.m. ET to discuss financial results and business progress. Second quarter 2025 webcast & conference call details Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2025 Time: 5 p.m. ET Webcast: The live webcast can be accessed at Telephone: Domestic callers, dial 888-330-2384International callers, dial +1 240-789-2701 Access code for both domestic and international callers: 4437608 A replay of the webcast will be available at The webcast, conference call, and replay are open to all interested parties. About Exact Sciences Corp. A leading provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, Exact Sciences helps patients and health care providers make timely, informed decisions before, during, and after a cancer diagnosis. The company's growing portfolio includes well-established brands such as Cologuard® and Oncotype DX®, along with innovative solutions like Oncodetect™ for molecular residual disease and recurrence monitoring. Exact Sciences continues to invest in a robust pipeline of advanced cancer diagnostics aimed at improving outcomes. For more information, visit follow @ExactSciences on X, or connect on LinkedIn and Facebook. View source version on Contacts Investor Contact:Derek Leckow608-893-0009investorrelations@ 擷取數據時發生錯誤 登入存取你的投資組合 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤
Medscape
an hour ago
- Medscape
ACG Refreshes Preventive Care in IBD Guidance
The American College of Gastroenterology has issued an updated clinical practice guideline on preventive care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that covers vaccinations, cancer surveillance, bone health monitoring, lifestyle counseling, and other important 'health maintenance' issues. 'Patients with IBD often consider their gastroenterologist to be the primary provider of care. Because more than 70% of patients with IBD will at some time be on medications that will affect the immune system, it is essential that the gastroenterology team promote vaccinations and other health maintenance activities,' said the writing group, led by Francis Farraye, MD, director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. The panel noted that referral to dermatology, endocrinology, gynecology, primary care, and psychiatry 'may be necessary on a case-by-case basis. Coordination between the gastroenterology team and other providers is crucial for improving the quality of care that we provide to our patients living with IBD.' The 27-page updated guideline on preventive care in IBD was published earlier this month in The American Journal of Gastroenterology , along with a one-page visual highlights summary. The update provides 12 recommendation statements and 11 key concepts. It replaces the 2017 ACG guideline on preventive care in IBD. Prioritize Vaccinations 'Patients with IBD are at increased risk for infections as a consequence of their disease, and this risk may be amplified by certain immune-modifying therapies,' the writing group noted. They strongly recommend that all adults with IBD aged 50 years and older with no prior pneumococcal vaccination receive the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) 20 or PCV21. There is a conditional recommendation that adults aged 19-49 years on immune-modifying therapy and with no prior pneumococcal vaccination also receive the PCV20 or PCV21 vaccine. Patients with IBD who previously received a pneumococcal vaccine should follow revaccination advice from the CDC. Vaccination against herpes zoster with the two-dose inactive recombinant herpes zoster vaccine is advised for patients with IBD aged 50 years or more and for younger patients about to start or already on immune-modifying therapy (both conditional recommendations). Other conditional recommendations include vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in accordance with national guidelines and live rotavirus vaccine for children with in-utero exposure to biologics. In addition, all adults with IBD should receive annual influenza vaccines; those receiving immune-modifying therapies and their household contacts should receive the nonlive trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine but not the live inhaled influenza vaccine. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine is advised for all patients aged 75 and older and for those aged 50-74 years with certain chronic medical conditions or other risk factors for severe RSV disease. Household members of patients receiving immune-modifying therapies can receive live vaccines with certain precautions. Vaccinations against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap), hepatitis A virus, human papillomavirus (HPV), and meningococcus should be administered according to CDC recommendations. Adults with IBD should receive vaccination against hepatitis B if not immune. Skin and Cervical Cancer Surveillance 'In addition to vaccination issues, it is important to identify subgroups of patients with IBD that have an increased risk of developing cervical cancer, nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC), and melanoma,' the panel said. In women with IBD on immune-modifying therapies, there is a conditional recommendation for annual cervical cancer screening within a year of sexual activity onset; in women younger than 30 years, screening should continue for 3 consecutive years before increasing to every 3 years. Annual screening for melanoma (independent of biologic therapy) and for NMSC (particularly in adults aged 50+) is also suggested (conditional recommendations). Bone and Mental Health Patients with IBD are at increased risk for bone loss, which can lead to osteopenia and osteoporosis. The guideline suggests screening for osteoporosis with bone mineral density testing at the time of diagnosis and periodically after diagnosis (conditional recommendation). Given data showing worse outcomes among smokers with IBD, smoking cessation counseling is strongly encouraged. The guideline also addresses the mental health of patients with IBD. 'Current evidence suggests that mood disorders, in particular depression and anxiety, are more prevalent in patients with IBD than the background population, the panel noted. Therefore, they recommend that all patients with IBD be screened for depression and anxiety at baseline and annually. Patients who screen positive for anxiety and/or depression should be referred for counseling/therapy.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump's spending bill will likely boost costs for insurers, shrink Medicaid coverage
By Amina Niasse NEW YORK (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's spending bill is set to raise administrative costs and make managing costs more difficult for insurers like UnitedHealthcare and CVS Health's Aetna that operate Medicaid health plans, experts say. As a result, those insurers will likely pull back their Medicaid coverage and invest more in existing markets to retain their healthier members, experts said. States contract with insurers, including UnitedHealth Group's UnitedHealthcare, CVS Health's Aetna, Centene and Molina , to operate Medicaid plans that are jointly funded by state and federal governments. Almost all of Molina's and nearly half of Centene's insurance business is composed of Medicaid members. That portion is smaller for Aetna and UnitedHealthcare which operate large commercial businesses. Seven industry experts say the bill's funding cuts and its stipulation requiring states to verify patients' work status deliver a blow to insurers. The provision in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act requires low-income adults, in states that have expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, to prove every six months that they meet work requirements in order to maintain coverage. State Medicaid departments, grappling with scant operational teams, will have a difficult time carrying out verification protocols, five industry experts said. "The expectation is that states are going to have to be ready by 2026 or 2027, and that's a fast turnaround window," said Nikita Singareddy, CEO of healthcare platform Fortuna Health. A spokesperson for Centene said it would work with federal and state partners to help patients navigate change. A spokesperson for CVS Health declined to comment. UnitedHealth Group and Molina did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. For insurers, the disruptions could result in more sick people enrolled in the Medicaid plans they operate on behalf of the government because those who are more ill are likely to complete the verification process because they have an immediate need for healthcare, industry experts and an investor said. The Congressional Budget Office estimated Medicaid policy changes in the bill could leave 7.8 million people uninsured by 2034. Mass disenrollments could begin in 2027 on a rolling basis, according to an expert at a state policy organization. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. States may choose to pay companies operating health plans at lower rates due to funding cuts, said Eric Levine, a principal consultant at Avalere Health. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, insurers have said the rates they are paid by states have not caught up to actual cost of care. Disenrollments of healthy people may exacerbate this misalignment, leading to inaccurate rates paid to plans and squeezed profit margins, according to a spokesperson for a national insurance trade organization and an investor. 'ANOTHER PERIOD OF RETRENCHMENT' If insurers find the fallout from these changes daunting, they are likely to exit certain markets or pull back on bidding or competing for footprints in new areas. "Insurers will continue to be more cautious about not just entering any new states, but retrenching just in the states where they have the highest market share, most scale and more profitable business," said Jeff Jonas, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, which owns shares of UnitedHealth Group. In an effort to keep healthier patients that drive profits enrolled, insurers may employ plan design changes ahead of the bill's finalization, adding perks that can make enrollment more appealing. This could help insurers retain and attract healthy members, according to Matt Salo, CEO of Salo Health Strategies and founding director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors and two other policy experts. Hosting volunteer events and job or educational search services are strategies insurers may use to engage members and reduce losses, said Levine. Health plans are also expected to boost transportation benefits and other social-need benefits for low-income Americans. Jonas and a spokesperson for a national health insurer say this programming will boost administrative costs in the short-term. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
