Extreme weather events like floods and droughts are cutting off pregnant women from healthcare services and nutrition support, creating a dangerous gap in maternal health that extends far beyond weather forecasts. A new qualitative study from Western Kenya reveals how changing climate patterns are disrupting access to antenatal care, malaria prevention, and the nutritional support systems that pregnant women depend on for healthy pregnancies .

How Is Climate Change Blocking Pregnant Women From Getting Healthcare?

Researchers from the Population Council and AMREF Health Africa conducted in-depth interviews with 149 women aged 15 to 49 years who had given birth within the previous two years, across Kisumu and Migori Counties in Western Kenya . The findings paint a stark picture of how weather disruption creates cascading health consequences for mothers and babies.

The climate impacts reported by participants include damaged crops, loss of livelihood, rising food prices, lack of safe drinking water, destroyed homes, and critically, washed-away roads and bridges that prevent women from reaching health facilities . In 2024, Kenya experienced its hottest year on record with above-normal rainfall, causing prolonged flooding that affected 41 out of 47 counties, with the Lake Victoria basin remaining inundated at higher levels than during the 2020 floods .

A household survey conducted in late 2024 found that 70% of mothers reported their households had been negatively affected by adverse climate events in the preceding 12 months, which prevented them from reaching a health facility for maternal health services . This isn't just an inconvenience; it's a direct threat to maternal survival.

Why Does Missing Prenatal Care During Climate Crises Put Babies at Risk?

One of the most critical services disrupted by climate-related barriers is malaria prevention during pregnancy. Malaria in pregnancy is associated with maternal anemia, stillbirth, preterm delivery, and low birth weight, contributing substantially to neonatal mortality . Globally, an estimated 14% of maternal deaths, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, are attributed to malaria in pregnancy .

The Lake Victoria basin, where this study took place, has the highest malaria prevalence in Kenya at 19% . The recommended prevention strategy is sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), an antimalarial medication given as intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp), which should be administered as part of routine antenatal care . Despite Kenya's national policy requiring all pregnant women in moderate to high malaria transmission areas to receive this treatment, uptake remains dangerously low.

In Kisumu and Migori counties, only one quarter of pregnant women received the recommended three or more doses of SP-IPTp . Climate disruptions that prevent women from attending antenatal appointments directly contribute to this gap, leaving mothers and babies vulnerable to malaria infection and its severe complications.

Ways Climate Barriers Affect Maternal Nutrition and Health Outcomes

• Food Security Collapse: Damaged crops and loss of livelihood from flooding and drought directly reduce household food availability, limiting the nutrient-dense foods pregnant women need for fetal development and their own health.
• Water Access Crisis: Lack of safe drinking water increases risk of waterborne infections and dehydration, which can trigger preterm labor and reduce nutrient absorption in the digestive system.
• Infrastructure Breakdown: Washed-away roads and bridges prevent women from traveling to health facilities where they receive nutritional counseling, micronutrient supplementation, and screening for malnutrition-related complications.
• Heat Stress Complications: Rising temperatures are associated with adverse outcomes including preterm birth, low birth weight, gestational hypertension, and stillbirth, all of which are exacerbated by poor nutrition.

The 2024-2029 Kenya Climate Change and Health Strategy specifically identifies pregnant women and newborns as among the most vulnerable populations when it comes to the effects of climate change, particularly extreme heat exposure . This recognition underscores that climate disruption isn't a separate issue from maternal nutrition and health; it's a direct driver of nutritional crisis during pregnancy.

The research team emphasized the need for locally grounded solutions. The study was designed as part of a larger implementation research project to develop and test community-based approaches to address low uptake of malaria prevention in Western Kenya, recognizing that climate-resilient maternal health planning requires integrating the voices and experiences of the women most affected .

What makes this research particularly important is that it moves beyond abstract climate statistics to document the lived experiences of pregnant women navigating extreme weather while trying to access the healthcare and nutrition support they need. The findings suggest that maternal health interventions in climate-vulnerable regions must address not just disease prevention, but the underlying infrastructure and food security systems that enable women to reach care and maintain adequate nutrition during pregnancy.

"Water is a good thing, but when it destroys it is not good," one study participant reflected, capturing the paradox of climate change in regions dependent on seasonal rainfall for both survival and health .

Study Participant, Kisumu or Migori County, Kenya

The research was conducted with ethical oversight from the Population Council Institutional Review Board and AMREF Ethics and Scientific Review Committee, and received administrative approval from Kenya's National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation . As climate patterns continue to shift globally, the lessons from this study in Western Kenya offer critical insights for protecting maternal health and nutrition in other vulnerable regions facing similar environmental pressures.