- Study will explore life-long mental health effects of heat on women and babies
- Pregnant women particularly vulnerable to extreme heat exposure
- Heat exposure during pregnancy links to mental health poorly understood.
Wellcome have awarded a £1.8 million grant to a Cambridge-led research consortium to study the life-long and intergenerational mental health effects of extreme heat on pregnant women and their children.
An international team of researchers from Cambridge, University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia (UNSW) and University of Thessaly, Greece (UTH)—spanning climate science, psychology, and perinatal health—will explore the largely uncharted biological and psychological links between heat and mental health in mothers and their children.
The interdisciplinary project is led by Prof Amanda Sferuzzi-Perri from the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, in Cambridge’s School of Biological Sciences, and a Fellow at St John’s College.
“I am thrilled that we have received funding to explore how extreme heat may impact the mental health of mothers and their babies,” Prof Sferruzzi-Perri said. “Pregnant women are not only physiologically more vulnerable to heat stress, but also often face social and structural disadvantages that can amplify its effects on their health.”
Sferuzzi-Perri said that pregnancy presents a unique window to study these impacts, as conditions during pregnancy not only shape maternal well-being in the short-term, but also influence lifelong mental health vulnerabilities in future generations.
“Identifying key risks during pregnancy is essential for designing targeted strategies, and this work will drive innovations in interventions and policies to safeguard maternal and inter-generational health in a warming world,” she said.
As climate change intensifies, understanding how extreme heat affects pregnant populations is critical given the growing likelihood that global temperature rises may exceed the 1.5C degrees target.
Around 1 in 5 women experience anxiety or depression during or after pregnancy. These challenges are worsened by heat-related pregnancy complications, with lasting consequences on both mothers and children.
"With global temperatures on track to exceed 1.5°C, extreme heat is becoming a defining challenge of our time. Understanding its impact on pregnant women and their children is critical—not just for today, but for generations to come." Prof Jason Evans, a climate modeller and co-applicant on the grant from the University of New South Wales said.
Researchers have assembled a diverse, multidisciplinary team supported by international collaborators and advisors with expertise across climate change, pregnancy, mental health, and public policy.
The project will leverage shared cross-species models of mental health vulnerability under experimentally controlled, real-world observational, and projected future heat exposure.
“This exciting and important grant exemplifies the collaborative research culture within the School of Biological Sciences, building on growing momentum in two key strategic focus areas: Women's Biology and Health and Mental Health across Scales, Species and Society,” Prof Rebecca Lawson, project co-lead and Deputy Head of School for Research Strategy said.
Crucially, the project also aligns with the University’s climate research priorities through strong connections with Cambridge Zero. The project is further enriched by international partnerships and the vital contributions of lived experience experts, whose insights are instrumental in shaping the design and implementation of this work.”
The project is divided into three integrated work packages; employing pre-clinical mouse models to study the direct effect of heat exposures during pregnancy, human pregnancy studies in Australia that combine weather data, personal heat exposure and mental health monitoring, and climate modelling to predict the future impacts of escalating heat exposure on population mental health. Collaborations with pregnant populations in diverse global settings, including The Gambia and India hold promise for the design of strategies grounded in real-world experiences.
By using harmonized measures across species, disciplines, and biological levels, this project will move beyond correlation to establish causal pathways by which heat impacts maternal and child mental health—laying the groundwork for future interventions and policy responses.
About Wellcome
Wellcome supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone. We support discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and we’re taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.