UC Riverside Hosts First Symposium Linking Maternal Health and Climate Change

TL;DR: UC Riverside’s inaugural Maternal and Planetary Health Symposium gathered 130 researchers, officials and activists to expose how extreme heat and poor air quality worsen pregnancy complications and to push for targeted policy action.

The two‑day event on April 2‑3 marked the campus’s first effort to unite academic, governmental and community voices around the intersection of maternal health and climate change. Organized by associate professor Jade Sasser with support from the Center for Ideas and Society, the symposium convened a diverse panel that included city officials, health system leaders and nonprofit directors.

Pregnant and newly postpartum individuals experience biological vulnerabilities—such as elevated blood pressure, mental‑health strain, low birth weight, preterm birth and stillbirth—that intensify under extreme heat and polluted air. Studies using cohort designs have linked heat waves to a 10‑15 % rise in preterm deliveries, while meta‑analyses of air‑quality exposure show a consistent association with reduced birth weight. These relationships are correlations; they do not prove that heat or pollutants alone cause outcomes, but they signal heightened risk for a population often omitted from climate‑health programs.

Attendees heard from Riverside’s Sustainability Manager Fortino Morales, Councilwoman Clarissa Cervantes, and the Climate Justice Program Director at Riverside University Health System, among others. Panelists emphasized that policy change is essential to protect vulnerable communities, especially people of color who bear the brunt of the Inland Empire’s heat and pollution. Sasser argued that effective policy requires continuous dialogue between researchers, policymakers and community groups.

The symposium’s practical takeaways include: 1) integrate climate‑risk assessments into prenatal care protocols; 2) allocate funding for cooling centers and air‑filtration resources in neighborhoods with high birth rates; 3) develop training for health providers on climate‑related pregnancy risks; and 4) establish a standing advisory board that includes pregnant residents to guide local climate‑health legislation.

Following the event, Sasser will lead a campus‑wide Climate Health and Justice Working Group. The group plans a one‑day follow‑up symposium, a podcast series, concise information sheets on climate‑health links, and grant applications to expand research and outreach in the region.

What to watch next: the working group’s upcoming symposium and any municipal policy proposals that incorporate climate considerations into maternal‑health services.