Just days into celebrating the new year, many worlds were turned upside down. Devastating wildfires are ravaging through parts of Los Angeles including the Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Malibu and Hollywood Hills, with death tolls continuing to rise.
As ash-filled skies engulf the city and wildfires blaze across the state in what may be considered the worst natural disaster in recent history, we are reminded of their potential to destroy landscapes and permanently reshape lives. As members of a maternal health organization, the catastrophic events not only stand as a microcosm of the broader issue of climate change, but also as a mirror of preexisting inequalities facing the most vulnerable members of society—pregnant individuals being among them. As we consider the ramifications of our worsening global climate, it is imperative that we hone in on the realities for mothers, birthing people, and infants as they navigate a planet in great peril.
Climate Change Deeply Impacts the Health of the Planet & Our Mothers
Understanding the interplay between climate change and reproductive justice calls for the intentional decision to evaluate how longstanding issues extend far beyond California’s hills. The climate crisis, whether through heatwaves, worsening air quality, rising sea levels, or natural disasters, increasingly intersects with reproductive health, amplifying deeply-entrenched disparities. Addressing the environmental realities impacting mothers and birthing people is critical, as our neglect to account for this specific population will render future generations vulnerable to cascading health and social consequences.
It is important to note that well-established organizations and agencies are beginning to underscore this glaring realization. In a 2023 departmental update, the World Health Organization named that pregnant people, babies, and children face distinct and extreme health risks from climate catastrophes. Among these health risks are adversematernal and perinatal outcomes, including multiple causes of perinatal and maternal mortality, such as gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth. While recent events are uniquely devastating, they reflect a trend that is not new. The frequency of climate disasters has increased by 54% from 1980 to 2016, with models predicting a further increase in global climate-related disasters including hurricanes, flooding and intensified droughts.
In the absence of specific catastrophic events, extreme heat and air pollution already have dismal implications for maternal and infant health. According to UNICEF’s 2023 Call for Action regarding climate change, these exposures heighten the risk of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity from stunting, respiratory diseases and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. When it comes to longstanding effects, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. Because prenatal and early-life exposures influence the developmental trajectory of infants, the effects of climate change are not limited to pregnancy and childbirth alone. They can ultimately ring out across a lifetime and predispose infants to later disease in adulthood.
Navigating a Climate Crisis in Los Angeles
Similar to the nature of the climate crisis in and of itself, the implications for maternal and infant health encapsulate a multitude of spheres. The devastation left in their wake can give rise to or augment negative mental health conditions, with realities reflecting stark racial and income disparities. For example, amidst the wildfires burning through much of the Los Angeles area, a homeless shelter was forced to evacuate around 300 mothers and children, rendering a considerable amount of low-income parents bereft of a valuable resource in an instant. What’s worse, the fires are projected to exacerbate an already-worsening homelessness crisis in California and at large—the Palisades fire alone is already believed to have burned over 1,000 homes, schools, and businesses. When we consider that an important facet of Reproductive Justice includes the right to parent in safe and healthy communities, it is quite evident that current conditions undermine the principles.
Protecting the planet is an imperative that cannot be disentangled from the need to uphold our most fundamental human rights. Acknowledging this means reframing the scope of our climate resilience strategies to 1) include intentional effort to protect maternal and infant health and 2) ensure equitable access to resources. Furthermore, we must privilege communal care as we await concrete, large-scale solutions by pouring into initiatives such as the Mutual Aid Los Angeles Network, the MALAN Fire & Wind Storm Resources, and the Disaster Relief Doula Support Initiative. In the face of a quickly-mounting climate crisis, the call to action for reproductive justice has never been more urgent. Only collective effort and action will prove adequate in our fight to safeguard the well-being of mothers, birthing people, children, and their families in California, the United States, and the world.
