Smoke from wildfires in parts of Alberta, British Columbia and now Nova Scotia has doctors warning pregnant people to take extra precautions against breathing in toxic particles.
"Unfortunately, it's become a common occurrence," she said of wildfires, which began earlier in the season in Alberta this year. The researchers studied 1.6 million birth records from across Brazil between 2001 and 2018, and analyzed wildfire smoke that occurred throughout that time. Overall, pregnant people should not blame themselves for whatever is out of their control, she said of behaviour or physical issues of children born during or after a wildfire or other disaster.
He said about 80 per cent of about 300 participants said the evacuation was not their worst experience but it triggered other trauma they'd suffered, such as abuse or the death of a spouse or child.