Intergenerational effects of climate disasters: trimester of pregnancy when a hurricane hits predicts neonate body size

Abstract

Context: Climate disasters have been tied to prenatal stress and pregnancy outcomes. However, it is unclear if these outcomes are influenced by the stage of foetal development when the disaster hits. Objective: To compare the birth outcomes by trimester for those pregnant during Hurricane Florence and those in the same community 1-2 years earlier. We further assessed the role of marital status and race. Methods: We included people who gave birth between 2016–2019 in one of the coastal communities impacted by Hurricane Florence (n = 7,240). We used multiple logistic regression to determine the effects of period (hurricane or pre-hurricane) and trimester and their respective interactions on birth outcomes controlling for key demographic variables. Results: Individuals in their first trimester during the hurricane had a greater likelihood of having low-birthweight, low-APGAR, or preterm babies compared to those in the same community a year earlier and those in later trimesters during the hurricane. Unmarried individuals in their first trimester during the hurricane were particularly at risk for low-birthweight neonates. Conclusion: Increased prenatal stress associated with disasters disrupts first trimester foetal development across all groups but is most pronounced in unmarried individuals. Differences in birthweight reflect intergenerational impacts in disaster events.