Accelerating climate action to promote reproductive health: why? who? how?

Abstract

Climate change has substantial broad implications for individual and population health. This impact on health, as well as the considerable contribution of the healthcare sector to greenhouse gas emissions and waste production, implicates healthcare workers to understand their role within the climate crisis. Reproductive healthcare workers are at the center of this issue, as downstream effects of climate change impact nearly all areas of reproductive health including fertility, pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, and relevant infectious diseases and cancers. Obstetricians, gynecologists, and other reproductive clinicians are experienced advocates for our patients, and it is prudent that we continue utilizing our unique knowledge and skillsets to promote reproductive health as it relates to climate change and environmental impact. In this piece, we review the implications of climate change on reproductive health, emphasize why reproductive health professionals may be compelled to help mitigate these outcomes, as well as describe ongoing efforts and suggest opportunities for action from the level of an individual to organizational leader. Our aim is to present the existing evidence surrounding climate change and reproductive health, in an effort to educate and empower reproductive health professionals to improve the health of our patients for generations to come.

Keywords: climate change; environmental justice; fertility; pregnancy; reproductive health.