Scoping review maps evidence linking maternal heat exposure to diverse neonatal morbidities beyond preterm birth and low birth weight, suggesting urgent need for standardized metrics.
Key Points
To synthesize evidence on neonatal morbidities associated with heat exposure beyond preterm birth and low birth weight.
Systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus for studies related to maternal heat exposure and neonatal outcomes.
Data extraction included study characteristics, neonatal outcomes, exposure windows, and heat metrics.
Risk of bias was assessed using design-appropriate tools.
Review included 15 studies with a total of 62,986,500 participants from nine countries.
Identified eight categories of neonatal outcomes, with mortality and NICU admissions being the most studied.
Evidence of adverse associations with heat exposure was noted, though the magnitude and statistical significance varied.