A woman cooking in Haiti. Cooking and household pollution may raise the risk of seizures, the study found. Photograph: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty

Indoor wood fires ‘dangerous’ for some pregnant women

Study finds link between smoke-related deaths and eclampsia, helping explain worse maternal health.

Air pollution from cooking indoors over a fire of wood or charcoal could have life-threatening consequences for some pregnant women, according to a new study.

A woman cooking in Haiti. Cooking and household pollution may raise the risk of seizures, the study found. Photograph: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty
A woman cooking in Haiti. Cooking and household pollution may raise the risk of seizures, the study found. Photograph: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty

Researchers at King’s College London found “a significantly positive correlation” between deaths attributable to toxic smoke from cooking and heating and the rate of eclampsia, a rare condition in pregnancy where high blood pressure results in life-threatening seizures. Women with pre-eclampsia, characterised by high blood pressure or hypertension, are at significantly greater risk in pregnancy if they are cooking over an open fire.

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Published in The Guardian – 9 Nov 2022

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