WHO and UN partners introduce new indicators to track heat-related risks to pregnant women, newborns and children

Extreme heat is emerging as a critical maternal and child health concern, with new evidence linking high temperatures to an increased likelihood of premature births and highlighting the growing exposure of infants to heatwaves. The World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have introduced a global monitoring framework urging countries to track these risks more systematically.

Announced on October 21, 2026, the framework provides a set of priority indicators to help health systems identify potential links between heat exposure and adverse outcomes during pregnancy, childbirth and early childhood. It calls for routine health records to be assessed alongside temperature and heatwave data so that authorities can detect emerging risks and respond more quickly.

According to WHO, studies associate exposure to extreme heat with a 26% increase in the odds of preterm birth. Babies under one year of age experienced 389% more heatwave days in 2024 than during the 1986–2005 baseline period. An estimated 1.5 billion children worldwide are exposed to heatwaves that are becoming more frequent, longer or more severe.

The findings place maternal and newborn health firmly within the climate adaptation agenda, raising questions about whether public health systems are adequately prepared to protect women and infants as extreme heat becomes more common.

Why pregnancy requires greater protection during heatwaves

Pregnancy places additional demands on the body, making the ability to stay cool, remain hydrated and access timely healthcare particularly important during periods of extreme heat.

High temperatures can contribute to dehydration and cardiovascular strain. Research has also linked heat exposure during pregnancy with adverse outcomes, including preterm birth, stillbirth and low birthweight. These associations do not mean that every heat-exposed pregnancy will experience complications, but they underline the need for preventive measures and better monitoring.

The risks do not end with delivery. Newborns have limited ability to regulate their body temperature and depend on caregivers to keep them safe in hot conditions. Infants can therefore face additional challenges when homes are poorly ventilated, reliable electricity or cooling is unavailable, or families lack access to health advice and medical services.

The WHO-led framework recommends monitoring outcomes such as preterm births, stillbirths, low birthweight, hypertension during pregnancy, child deaths and visits to health facilities during periods of extreme heat.

By examining these indicators alongside temperature data, health authorities can look for unusual patterns, investigate possible links with heat exposure and identify where additional services may be needed.

The framework is intended to improve the evidence available to decision-makers, rather than treating every adverse pregnancy or newborn outcome during a heatwave as necessarily caused by high temperatures.

India has guidance on heat and pregnancy. Implementation is the next challenge

The issue has direct relevance for India, where heatwaves place pressure on communities, workplaces and public health services.

In May 2026, India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in collaboration with UNFPA India, published guidance for healthcare providers and community health workers on managing heat-related risks during pregnancy. The resource outlines how health workers can identify high-risk pregnancies, recognise warning signs, counsel women and arrange timely referrals.

It also identifies practical preparedness measures for health facilities, including access to safe drinking water, cooling methods, essential supplies and functioning referral systems. Community health workers, including Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) and Anganwadi workers, can help identify women who may need additional support.

The existence of such guidance is an important step. However, the broader question is whether advice and protection reach women who face the greatest barriers to staying cool and accessing healthcare.

Pregnant women living in poorly ventilated homes, working outdoors or in hot indoor environments, travelling long distances for antenatal appointments, or managing household responsibilities during the hottest hours may have fewer opportunities to avoid heat exposure.

These are issues that require local investigation rather than assumptions about every woman’s circumstances. Their significance will depend on housing conditions, occupation, access to water and electricity, healthcare availability and the effectiveness of local heat-response plans.

The unequal burden of extreme heat

Heat exposure is not determined by temperature alone. A person’s ability to avoid or recover from extreme heat also depends on their living and working conditions.

Women in informal employment may have limited control over their working hours or access to shaded rest areas. Those who rely on daily wages may find it difficult to stop working during the hottest part of the day without losing income. Women responsible for childcare, cooking and other household work may also struggle to find time to rest or travel to a cooler location.

For pregnant women, these constraints can make general heat-safety advice difficult to follow. Recommendations to stay indoors, avoid strenuous activity and keep living spaces cool are less useful when a person cannot change their working conditions or lacks access to a cool room.

These challenges also raise questions about how heat action plans account for pregnancy, maternity services and the needs of households without reliable cooling.

A gender-sensitive approach should examine not only the number of heat-related illnesses reported but also who is exposed, who can access protection and which communities face the greatest obstacles to obtaining care.

What governments need to monitor

The new WHO, WMO, UNICEF and UNFPA framework offers a way to move beyond temperature forecasts and assess how extreme heat may affect health outcomes.

Its recommendations include tracking pregnancy and birth outcomes, child deaths, health-facility visits and measures of heat exposure. Monitoring school attendance can also help authorities understand how extreme heat disrupts children’s daily lives.

For maternal health, combining these datasets could help health departments identify periods when preterm births, pregnancy-related hypertension or other adverse outcomes appear to rise alongside extreme temperatures. Such patterns would require further assessment, but they could help authorities direct attention and resources towards potentially vulnerable populations.

The approach could also help hospitals prepare for increased demand, strengthen heat alerts for pregnant women and families, and identify gaps in local health services.

For India, this creates an opportunity to connect heat action planning with routine maternal and newborn health programmes. Health facilities and local authorities could assess whether warnings reach pregnant women in time, whether community health workers have the resources to provide advice, and whether referral systems remain functional during severe heat.

The challenge is to turn guidance into an operational response that reaches women before heat-related illness becomes a medical emergency.

Protecting mothers and newborns must become part of climate adaptation

Extreme heat is often addressed through weather alerts, emergency advisories and measures to reduce heat exposure among the general population. The new framework highlights why maternal, newborn and child health also needs to be considered in climate preparedness.

WHO has called on countries to develop context-specific heat-health action plans that account for the needs of pregnant women, newborns and children, strengthen early-warning systems and trigger timely responses when heat risks emerge.

For women, effective protection requires more than information about drinking water or avoiding the midday sun. It also involves access to antenatal care, safe working conditions, adequate rest, reliable water and electricity, and health facilities equipped to respond during extreme temperatures.

The new indicators provide governments with a framework to better identify risks and assess potential health impacts. Their value will ultimately depend on whether countries collect reliable data, use it to guide decisions and direct support towards those most exposed.

As heatwaves become a more persistent public health challenge, protecting pregnant women and newborns must be treated as part of routine healthcare and climate planning—not only as a response to an emergency.