MAGENTA (Maternal And preGnancy hEalth aNd elevaTed heAt)

MAGENTA (Maternal And preGnancy hEalth aNd elevaTed heAt) is a research project led by Population Data Science at Swansea University. Wellcome has invested £2.2 million in this research which looks at how temperature impacts pregnancy outcomes for people living in deprived communities in Wales and London.  
 
The health impacts from changing climatic conditions, including increasing frequency, severity, and duration of heat, are being felt by millions across the world and are projected - by scientists ranging from physicists to climatologists - to worsen. In July 2022, the MET Office reported that 5 of the 10 highest recorded temperatures in the UK have occurred in the last 7 years (>+36°C), and ONS documented the highest rate of heat-related excess mortality during the summer of 2022. Pregnant people and their new-borns are vulnerable to increased heat, particularly where the population are not acclimated, with academics and clinicians agreeing on findings indicating an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes when exposed to temperatures greater than 20°C. 
 
The impact of heat during pregnancy has been neglected in the UK to date. MAGENTA is rapidly addressing multiple gaps in knowledge about the effects of excessive heat on maternal, fetal and child health especially in unacclimated deprived communities in the UK. MAGENTA is working with people across the region; political stakeholders, midwives, clinicians and community partners to develop policy and practice-relevant scientific insights on the impacts of changing temperatures on immediate and future population health.