High wet-bulb temperatures, time allocation, and diurnal patterns of breastfeeding in Bangladeshi fisher-traders
Background Climate change is a growing threat to population health, with dangerous combinations of heat and humidity increasing in frequency, particularly in South Asia. Evidence suggests that high temperatures and heat stress influence breastfeeding behaviour and may lead to suboptimal infant and y...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Annals of Human Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/03014460.2025.2461709 |
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| author | Kathrine Starkweather Haley Ragsdale Margaret Butler Fatema T. Zohora Nurul Alam |
| author_facet | Kathrine Starkweather Haley Ragsdale Margaret Butler Fatema T. Zohora Nurul Alam |
| author_sort | Kathrine Starkweather |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Climate change is a growing threat to population health, with dangerous combinations of heat and humidity increasing in frequency, particularly in South Asia. Evidence suggests that high temperatures and heat stress influence breastfeeding behaviour and may lead to suboptimal infant and young child nutrition.Aim Few studies have quantified the relationship between ambient heat and breastfeeding. Here we evaluate associations between wet-bulb temperature and daily breastfeeding patterns in a rural community in Bangladesh.Subjects and methods We used 23 months of daily time-diary data from 68 maternal-child dyads and regional wet-bulb temperatures to test the hypothesis that increased heat and humidity negatively influence breastfeeding outcomes among Shodagor fisher-traders.Results We found that higher wet-bulb temperatures predicted reduced daily breastfeeding time allocation, particularly among fishers, and drove shifts towards increased night-time and decreased mid/late morning feeding. Maternal occupation and the interaction of child age with heat strongly influenced diurnal breastfeeding patterns.Conclusion These results highlight an important role of maternal work on infants’ vulnerability to environmental stress. Dyads’ ability to behaviourally compensate for extreme heat may be constrained by extended heatwaves, humidity, and economic circumstances, suggesting that climate change will likely exacerbate heat-related risks to global child health going forward. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e940551fbbb04f0486513bcc1d0612b8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0301-4460 1464-5033 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Human Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e940551fbbb04f0486513bcc1d0612b82025-08-20T03:05:30ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAnnals of Human Biology0301-44601464-50332025-12-0152110.1080/03014460.2025.2461709High wet-bulb temperatures, time allocation, and diurnal patterns of breastfeeding in Bangladeshi fisher-tradersKathrine Starkweather0Haley Ragsdale1Margaret Butler2Fatema T. Zohora3Nurul Alam4Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USADepartment of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USACenter of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USAInternational Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, BangladeshInternational Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, BangladeshBackground Climate change is a growing threat to population health, with dangerous combinations of heat and humidity increasing in frequency, particularly in South Asia. Evidence suggests that high temperatures and heat stress influence breastfeeding behaviour and may lead to suboptimal infant and young child nutrition.Aim Few studies have quantified the relationship between ambient heat and breastfeeding. Here we evaluate associations between wet-bulb temperature and daily breastfeeding patterns in a rural community in Bangladesh.Subjects and methods We used 23 months of daily time-diary data from 68 maternal-child dyads and regional wet-bulb temperatures to test the hypothesis that increased heat and humidity negatively influence breastfeeding outcomes among Shodagor fisher-traders.Results We found that higher wet-bulb temperatures predicted reduced daily breastfeeding time allocation, particularly among fishers, and drove shifts towards increased night-time and decreased mid/late morning feeding. Maternal occupation and the interaction of child age with heat strongly influenced diurnal breastfeeding patterns.Conclusion These results highlight an important role of maternal work on infants’ vulnerability to environmental stress. Dyads’ ability to behaviourally compensate for extreme heat may be constrained by extended heatwaves, humidity, and economic circumstances, suggesting that climate change will likely exacerbate heat-related risks to global child health going forward.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/03014460.2025.2461709Breastfeedingclimate changewet-bulb temperatureinfant growth |
| spellingShingle | Kathrine Starkweather Haley Ragsdale Margaret Butler Fatema T. Zohora Nurul Alam High wet-bulb temperatures, time allocation, and diurnal patterns of breastfeeding in Bangladeshi fisher-traders Annals of Human Biology Breastfeeding climate change wet-bulb temperature infant growth |
| title | High wet-bulb temperatures, time allocation, and diurnal patterns of breastfeeding in Bangladeshi fisher-traders |
| title_full | High wet-bulb temperatures, time allocation, and diurnal patterns of breastfeeding in Bangladeshi fisher-traders |
| title_fullStr | High wet-bulb temperatures, time allocation, and diurnal patterns of breastfeeding in Bangladeshi fisher-traders |
| title_full_unstemmed | High wet-bulb temperatures, time allocation, and diurnal patterns of breastfeeding in Bangladeshi fisher-traders |
| title_short | High wet-bulb temperatures, time allocation, and diurnal patterns of breastfeeding in Bangladeshi fisher-traders |
| title_sort | high wet bulb temperatures time allocation and diurnal patterns of breastfeeding in bangladeshi fisher traders |
| topic | Breastfeeding climate change wet-bulb temperature infant growth |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/03014460.2025.2461709 |
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