ABSTRACT
Temperature has several health implications, especially for individuals with compromised immunity, such as pregnant women. The objective of this study was to examine the correlation between the highest temperature (Tmax) and the rate of premature births, as well as to understand the mechanism behind this relationship. Data were gathered from the Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RpMCH) for the period spanning from 2019 to 2021. A grand number of 14,354 birth data points were gathered. Out of the total deliveries, 48.77% were classified as normal, 32.12% were caesarean deliveries, and 18.56% were premature deliveries occurring before 36 weeks of gestation. We examined the occurrence of premature birth throughout the months of May to October, which experience the highest temperatures of the year and include the days with the highest maximum temperature (Tmax). We observed a positive link between the maximum temperature (Tmax) and premature delivery. However, this correlation was not statistically significant for the specified years. The corona shutdown resulted in a decrease in temperature over the examined years, which may have influenced the reduced rate of preterm deliveries during that time. Due to the constraints of data accessibility, doing this type of study is particularly challenging for nations such as Bangladesh. Preserving the delivery data and digitization are crucial. Conducting this type of study will be more manageable for researchers, and providing appropriate recommendations for precautionary measures will be more straightforward for clinicians.
Key words: Climate change, premature birth, pregnancy
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