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Objective: In this discussion, we build the case for why climate change is an emerging threat to perinatal mental health. Method: A search of current literature on perinatal and maternal mental health and extreme weather events was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE and Web of Science databases. Only articles focusing on maternal mental health were included in this narrative review. Results: The perinatal period represents a potentially challenging timeframe for women for several reasons. Necessary role adjustments (reprioritization), changes in one's ability to access pre-birth levels (and types) of social support, fluctuating hormones, changes in body shape, and possible complications during pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum are just a few of the factors that can impact perinatal mental health. Trauma is also a risk factor for negative mood symptoms and can be experienced as the result of many different types of events, including exposure to extreme weather/natural disasters. Conclusion: While the concepts of "eco-anxiety," "climate despair," and "climate anxiety" have garnered attention in the mainstream media, there is little to no discussion of how the climate crisis impacts maternal mental health. This is an important omission as the mother's mental health impacts the family unit as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding and intervening at the intersection of climate change and child health disparities require pediatric providers to broaden their competency with structural determinants of health - even in the clinic. The environmental effects of climate change at the community level intersect in complex ways with structural racism and social influences of health. Climate injustice is further evident in policies and practices that disproportionately affect low-income communities and communities of color through exposure to harmful pollutants from industrial plants, heavy vehicular traffic, and flooding waterways, as well as to harm from degraded civic infrastructure such as leaking water lines and unsafe bridges. To support child health, pediatric providers must recognize the environmental health harms posed to children and multiplied by climate change as well as identify opportunities to center the voices of families and communities to dismantle these inequities. In this article, three case examples demonstrate the links between structural racism, climate change and child health. We then use a healing centered engagement approach to offer specific suggestions for how pediatric providers can actively promote health and resilience, advocate for patient needs, and contribute to efforts to change structural racism in existing practices and institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current indicators of anthropogenic climate change are foreboding and demand immediate collaborative action and policy change to reduce carbon emissions rapidly. Human and environmental effects of climate change are already widespread. Large-scale disruptive disasters and weather-related events have downstream and cascading effects on livelihoods, national economies, population health and global human rights. These effects create human displacement and migration crises with far-reaching implications for children. Displacement and migration, both within and across national borders, have sequelae for the physical and mental health of children. Young children are vulnerable-both physiologically and developmentally immature-and dependent on others for safety and resources. They also are least responsible for the climate crisis. Child health threats stemming from displacement and migration exemplify questions of social and intergenerational injustice inherent in the climate crisis. Pediatric health care providers are increasingly called upon to care for children and ensure access to care for children who have experienced displacement from climate change, even as dire predictions for the future are escalating climate adaptation efforts. Pediatric health care providers have a role in these efforts-to identify and advocate for those children most at risk from climate change and to bolster clinical care and education strategies to prevent harm to our patients and children. This paper provides a global perspective on climate change for pediatric providers, including how climate change reflects and reinforces colonial legacies that harm child health. We provide action steps for those providers who care for children who have been displaced in the U.S. and who advocate for children's health globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the urgency of the climate crisis and mounting evidence linking climate change to child health harms, pediatricians do not routinely engage with climate change in the office. Each primary care visit offers opportunities to screen for and support children burdened with risks to health that are increasingly intense due to climate change. Routine promotion of healthy behaviors also aligns with some needed-and powerful-solutions to the climate crisis. For some patients, including those engaged in athletics, those with asthma and allergies, or those with complex healthcare needs, preparedness for environmental risks and disasters worsened by climate change is a critical component of disease prevention and management. For all patients, anticipatory guidance topics that are already mainstays of pediatric best practices are related closely to needed guidance to keep children safe and promote health in the setting of compounding risks due to climate change. By considering climate change in routine care, pediatricians will be updating practice to align with evidence-based literature and better serving patients. This article provides a framework for pediatricians to provide climate-informed primary care during the structure of pediatric well child and other visits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]