Reproductive, Maternal, and Newborn Health (RMNH) in a Changing Climate

Speakers announced soon!
Climate change is no longer a background environmental issue — it is now a direct and indirect clinical determinant of maternal and newborn outcomes, affecting when, where, and how patients seek and receive care. This module introduces the full range of climate-sensitive health pathways relevant to pregnancy, birth, and the post-partum period, including heat-related obstetric risk, air pollution–linked stillbirth, flood-related care disruption, vector-borne disease, and malnutrition-driven complications. Participants learn how to conduct a climate-informed patient assessment, adding exposure, displacement, and resource instability to standard clinical history. The session establishes the foundational lens for the course: every skilled birth attendant or  reproductive health provider is now a frontline responder to climate-driven risk, whether or not they specialize in climate or disaster medicine.

Speakers announced soon!

Extreme heat increases the risk of preterm birth, stillbirth, miscarriage, hypertensive disorders, kidney injury, and maternal heat stroke, but most clinical protocols do not yet incorporate climate-related heat risk into routine reproductive care. This module trains clinicians to define and recognize heat emergencies, screen high-risk pregnant patients, and stabilize heat illness even when IV fluids, cooling devices, or electricity are unavailable. Participants walk through clinical algorithms for heat stress in pregnancy, including when to modify medications, when to continue labor locally, and when emergency referral is necessary. The session also covers low-cost, community-adapted prevention strategies and how to develop heatwave action plans for reproductive health clinics, maternity units, and home-based midwifery care.

Speakers announced soon!

Air pollution exposure increases the risk of preterm birth, stillbirth, low birthweight, hypertensive disorders, and neonatal respiratory complications. Clinicians will learn how to assess exposure, identify high-risk symptoms, and manage acute respiratory distress or pregnancy complications linked to smoke or smog. The session will equip providers with protective strategies for displaced, outdoor-laboring, or low-income pregnant patients who cannot access sealed housing or air filtration. Emphasis is placed on crisis-adapted care: how to protect maternal and fetal health when the facility has limited/intermittent power, no HVAC system, oxygen is limited, and air quality alerts are unavailable.

Speakers announced soon!

Extreme weather events often sever access to skilled birth attendance, emergency obstetric care, medications, and newborn stabilization, dramatically increasing preventable maternal deaths. This module trains clinicians to use disaster-ready triage tools, perform safe deliveries in improvised settings, and manage obstetric and newborn emergencies when transport and supplies are disrupted. Participants learn “72-hour continuity protocols” for reproductive and antenatal records, postpartum follow-up, and newborn care when patient tracking systems collapse, including considerations for task sharing with community cadres. Care is framed through an equity lens: women with disabilities, adolescents, and unaccompanied mothers are most likely to be left out of disaster response systems.

Speakers announced soon!

As temperatures rise and rainfall patterns shift, malaria, dengue, and other vector-borne diseases are appearing in regions where pregnancy-specific clinical skills may be limited. Providers learn how to evaluate fever in pregnancy, differentiate dengue warning signs from preeclampsia, and manage infection when IV fluids, blood products, or referral labs are unavailable. The module includes decision algorithms for “treat presumptively vs. wait for testing” in fragile settings. Special focus is placed on fetal monitoring, including when to continue care locally and when to arrange emergency transfer despite insecurity or transport barriers.

Speakers announced soon!

Droughts, floods, and crop failures increase disease, malnutrition, and infection risks that worsen women’s health and reproductive outcomes, especially in low-income and displaced populations. This module equips clinicians to stabilize dehydration and prevent sepsis even when IV fluids, lab testing, or sanitation infrastructure are unavailable. Providers learn how to prevent anemia-related postpartum hemorrhage by managing nutrition early in pregnancy through locally accessible foods and supplementation alternatives. Providers will learn how to counsel adolescent girls and women on menstrual health and hygiene in situations where contaminated water is a risk, and how to identify and treat related infections. Clinical equity is emphasized: widowed mothers, adolescent girls, and low-literacy patients require different counseling approaches and support pathways.

Speakers announces soon!

Rates of sexual violence increase after disasters and displacement, yet clinical care for survivors is often interrupted at the exact moment it is most needed. This session prepares providers to deliver trauma-informed, evidence-based post-rape care using scalable protocols that do not depend on lab access, stocked pharmacies, or private exam rooms. Participants learn to document safely, prescribe empiric regimens, and activate referral chains that protect patients even in insecure settings. The module reinforces that every maternal health provider (and particularly female clinicians) can respond to violence against women and girls during climate emergencies — whether or not the facility has specialists.

Speakers announces soon!

Climate shocks destabilize pharmaceutical imports, blood banking, cold chains, and referral logistics, causing otherwise preventable maternal deaths. This module trains clinicians to prevent and manage life-threatening complications — hemorrhage, eclampsia, sepsis — when medications are expired, limited, or unavailable. Providers learn what to substitute, what to reuse, what to conserve, and when to escalate care despite transport failures. When preparing for climate shocks, RMNH self-care interventions will be introduced that enable community members to take their health into their own hands, with appropriate clinical guidance. Supply-chain resilience is framed as a clinical skill, not an administrative task.

Speakers announces soon!

Many primary care and maternity facilities were not designed for extreme heat, flooding, or power instability, yet they are now operating under those conditions. This module teaches clinical teams how to safeguard medications, stabilize laboring patients, and maintain infection control even when ventilation or electricity fails. Providers learn passive cooling strategies, solar-powered cold storage, and emergency layout redesign to keep care running during climate events. The session ends with a facility risk-mapping exercise clinicians can take back to practice sites.

Speakers announces soon!

Frontline health workers caring for adolescents, infants, and pregnant and postpartum patients during climate-related crises are at risk not only of emotional burnout and trauma exposure but also of direct physical harm from heat stress, vector bites, dehydration, smoke inhalation, infectious exposure, and unsafe shift lengths. This module provides practical strategies to protect both body and mind in low-resource settings, including hydration and cooling plans, vector-bite protection for night shifts, safe mask use during wildfire smoke, and micro-recovery techniques during long clinical days. The session also introduces rapid, low-resource psychological first aid, peer-support models, and “safety rounds” that can be applied even in small clinics or mobile units. The core message: the resilience of the health workforce is a clinical asset — patient safety depends on provider safety.

The exam will open after this session.