By PPH Foundation

Climate change is increasingly emerging as a major threat not only to pregnant women and newborns, but also to frontline health workers responsible for managing obstetric emergencies such as postpartum haemorrhage (PPH). Rising temperatures, prolonged heat exposure, overcrowded maternity wards, and poor ventilation are now affecting the performance, wellbeing, and emergency response capacity of healthcare providers across many low-resource settings.

Recent global evidence shows that heat stress significantly affects concentration, hydration, physical endurance, cognitive function, and decision-making among healthcare workers, all of which are critical during maternal emergencies where rapid intervention can determine survival. A 2025 review published in the Journal of Public Health identified physical health impacts, mental stress, occupational safety risks, and reduced workforce resilience as major consequences of climate change on health workers globally.

This growing concern aligns with findings presented by Dr Eunice Atsali, Co-Lead of the End Postpartum Haemorrhage Initiative, during the International Maternal, Newborn and Child Health platform in Nairobi in March 2026, where she highlighted the dangers of heat-stressed maternity wards. Dr Atsali noted that poorly ventilated labour wards expose both mothers and health workers to exhaustion, dehydration, reduced labour stamina, and delayed emergency response, increasing risks of postpartum haemorrhage and poor maternal outcomes.

“Maternal emergency care depends on speed, focus, teamwork, and endurance. Excessive heat in maternity environments affects the ability of health workers to respond effectively during obstetric emergencies,” says Dr Atsali.

Emerging African research is now reinforcing these concerns. A 2025 qualitative study from Kenya published in PLOS Climate found that healthcare and community health workers exposed to rising temperatures experienced fatigue, heat-related illness, physical exhaustion, and reduced work efficiency, while many described heat exposures as a growing occupational health risk.

Additional studies from South Africa have also shown that healthcare workers operating in warmer hospital environments experience increased physiological strain and reduced performance during emergency care, particularly during summer periods and in poorly cooled facilities.

At the same time, heat exposure itself is increasingly linked to adverse maternal and newborn outcomes. A major 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Nature Medicine, reviewing 198 studies across 66 countries, found strong associations between extreme heat exposure and maternal complications including preterm birth, stillbirth, gestational diabetes, neonatal complications, and obstetric risks.

Prof Julius Ogengo, Co-Lead of the End PPH Initiative, warns that climate resilience must now become part of maternal health planning.

“Climate change is no longer separate from maternal health systems. Rising heat is affecting the environments where emergency obstetric care is delivered, placing additional pressure on already stretched health workers and facilities,” says Prof Ogeng’o.

Experts are now calling for urgent investments in climate-resilient maternity infrastructure, including improved ventilation, cooling systems, occupational heat protection policies, heat surveillance systems, and better-designed maternity wards capable of supporting both patients and healthcare workers during periods of extreme temperatures.

The growing evidence suggests that protecting mothers from postpartum haemorrhage will increasingly require protecting the health workforce itself from the escalating impacts of climate change.

Sources

1. Tesfaye AH et al. Impact of climate change on health workers: a scoping review. Journal of Public Health. 2025.
2. Maina TW et al. Qualitative insights of workplace heat among community health workers and health promoters in Kenya. PLOS Climate. 2025.
3. Mnyigumba R et al. Impacts of climate change on reproductive, maternal, and child health outcomes in Tanzania. BMC Public Health. 2025.
4. Fitchett M et al. Heat stress risks among emergency medicine registrars in South Africa. International Journal of Biometeorology. 2025.
5. Lakhoo DP et al. Heat exposure impacts on maternal, fetal and neonatal health. Nature Medicine. 2025.
6. Wibowo R et al. Impact of heat stress and protective clothing on healthcare workers in hospital settings. Annals of Work Exposures and Health. 2025.
7. Image by Freepik