As climate change leads to more frequent, intense and prolonged periods of hot weather, understanding the potential effects on pregnancy and newborn health is important.
The MAGENTA (Maternal And preGnancy hEalth aNd elevaTed heAt) project is a £2.2 million Wellcome-funded research project, led by Swansea University in collaboration with University College London. It investigates whether exposure to higher temperatures during pregnancy are associated with outcomes such as gestational age at birth, birth weight, stillbirth, newborn health and maternal hospital care, with a focus on deprived communities in Wales and London. By combining large-scale linked health and temperature data with biological samples from pregnant women in Swansea, the project also aims to understand the biological mechanisms underpinning any observed associations.
A new ADR Wales Data Insight authored by the MAGENTA team discusses their emerging findings from a smaller electronic cohort of births in Wales in 2022 (MAGENTA22). The MAGENTA22 e-cohort linked anonymised health, birth and address data for all singleton births and their mothers in Wales during 2022 with daily outdoor temperature measures. Individual temperature exposures were estimated using mothers’ residential histories and temperature data, allowing researchers to examine differences in heat exposure during pregnancy at a local area level. MAGENTA22 was curated to assess data linkage feasibility and to provide a proof-of-concept for the full MAGENTA e-cohort (2010-2013).
A total of 22,803 births to Welsh resident mothers were included in the MAGENTA22 e-cohort. The analysis found considerable variation in temperatures experienced by mothers across Wales. Mothers living in urban areas experienced more days during pregnancy when maximum temperatures exceeded 25°C than those living in rural areas, highlighting the potential importance of the urban heat island effect. The cohort also described inequalities in birth outcomes: of the 5.8% of births that were moderate to late preterm, a greater proportion were for mothers living in the most deprived areas compared with those living in the least deprived areas.
The next phase of MAGENTA will expand the electronic cohort to include births in Wales and London from 2010 to 2023 and examine a wider range of pregnancy and newborn outcomes. Through continued engagement with pregnant women, the public, policymakers and health professionals, MAGENTA aims to translate the evidence into practical recommendations for adapting to the health risks of a warming climate.
MAGENTA is funded by the Wellcome Trust [Grant ref: 228009/Z/23/Z] at Swansea University, in collaboration with the Kids Environment and Health Cohort based at the University College London. ADR Wales has supported the project’s work through its data and research infrastructure and policy networks.