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Baby, It’s Hot Outside!

Baby, It’s Hot Outside!

June 9, 2015

Natural Sciences, Press Releases

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Harvard University researchers have developed a technique that measures the correlation between air temperature and birth weight. They evaluated the relationship between birth outcomes (focusing on birth weight) and ambient air temperature during pregnancy in Massachusetts between 2000 and 2008.

“We found that exposure to high air temperature during pregnancy increases the risk of lower birth weight and can cause preterm birth,” says Dr. Itai Kloog, a senior lecturer in BGU’s Department of Geography and Environmental Development. “An increase of 8.5 °C in the last trimester of average exposure was associated with a 17g decrease in birth weight of babies born full term after adjusting for other potential risk factors.”

The paper, “Using Satellite-Based Spatiotemporal Resolved Air Temperature Exposure to Study the Association between Ambient Air Temperature and Birth Outcomes in Massachusetts” was recently published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal.

Together with his colleagues, Dr. Kloog developed a “high resolution air temperature estimation model” to predict daily air temperature by kilometer and address level exposure during various prenatal exposure periods from date of conception through birth for each mother.

“With the increase in temperatures over the last century and continued emissions from greenhouse gases, more attention is being focused on effects from heat,” Dr. Kloog says.

The researchers from Harvard University include Steven J. Melly, Prof. Brent A. Coull, Dr. Francesco Nordio, and Prof. Joel D. Schwartz.

ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY

By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.

About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.

We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.

BGU at a glance:  

20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.

 

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James Fattal, J Cubed Communications

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