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Warming temperatures have a negative effect on fertility and birth rates

Warming temperatures have a negative effect on fertility and birth rates

Global warming has a negative effect on fertility and the problem is expected to get worse. This is the conclusion of a research conducted by UCLA environmental economist Alan Barreca, Medical Express reports.

 

Barreca analyzed 80 years of US birth data. His initial point was the fact that August and September are the two months with the largest number of births in the US

 

High temperatures have a significant negative effect on birth rates. The research projects that climate change drives temperatures getting pregnant may become harder than ever. Data from the study was reported in the journal Demography,

 

The reason for this tendency?

 

The reason for this tendency is not that people have less sex but that heat affects male fertility, the researcher explains.

Previous studies show that sperm production falls in hot weather. The study also revealed a rebound effect: Birth rates increased for several months after they were depressed by hot weather.

 

Climate change will shift more births from spring to summer months, which would be bad news for prenatal health, Barreca projects. Women who give birth in August or September will be exposed to considerably more hot weather during their third trimester, and studies have suggested that hot weather during the third trimester of pregnancy negatively affects fetal health as measured by birth weight.

 

You can read the whole study HERE

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