Exploring how environmental exposures during pregnancy, such as sunlight, temperature, and air pollution, influence the risk of stillbirth.
This research, funded by Sands, aims to understand the relationship between environmental factors a woman encounters during pregnancy and the potential risk of stillbirth. With over half of stillbirths remaining unexplained, it's crucial to identify new risk factors and understand how they might affect the health of both the mother and the baby.
The research study will use environmental and health data records from Scotland and analyse them to see if there are any patterns between factors like sunlight levels, temperature or air pollution and the risks of stillbirth, or problems for the mother and baby during pregnancy.
This research should provide important evidence about whether sunlight levels, temperature and air pollution are linked to an increased risk of stillbirth or not. Gaining a better understanding of the different risk factors potentially associated with stillbirth will help researchers, clinicians and policy makers to ensure that public health information for pregnant women is clear and up to date.
More information
Why do we need this research?
Many stillbirths remain unexplained. Understanding potential environmental effects on the health of mum and baby during pregnancy is crucial to improve stillbirth prevention and provide better care. Building on previous work, this research aims to see if environmental factors such as exposure to sunlight, high or low temperatures and levels of air pollution experienced during pregnancy might play a role in influencing the risk of stillbirth.
What are the aims of this study?
The main goal of this study is to find out how environmental factors, such as sunlight exposure, temperature variations, and air pollution levels, during pregnancy might influence the health of the mother and baby, especially the risk of stillbirth.
What will the researchers do?
Researchers will link information from Scottish health records to corresponding environmental records, creating a comprehensive database. This approach will allow them to study the effects of environmental factors on pregnancy outcomes. This linked data will then be analysed to see if there are any patterns between the sunlight levels, temperatures and air pollution levels in the environmental records and any stillbirths or problems in pregnancy for mother or baby, noted in the health records.
What do we expect from the study?
This research should provide important evidence about whether sunlight levels, temperature and air pollution are linked to an increased risk of stillbirth or not. If significant links are discovered, further studies can be initiated to explore deeper these connections in more detail. The findings from this study could also be useful for informing a potential need for public health guidance for pregnant women as part of future work.
Additional information:
Lead researcher – Sarah Murray
Institution – Edinburgh University
Funder – Sands
Duration – 2024 - ongoing