PURPOSE:
The Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Thessaly, participates in the Horizon Europe-funded project ‘HIGH Horizons’, and is responsible for investigating the biological and pathophysiological mechanisms through which heat stress impacts the health of pregnant women, postpartum mothers, newborns, and infants, developing and identifying biomarkers that will quantify and monitor these effects. This research is part of a broader effort to design interventions and public health strategies that promote safe and resilient maternal and newborn care.

DISCUSSION:
A prospective cohort study is being conducted, aiming to recruit 500 mother–child pairs. Pregnant women are enrolled during the first trimester and followed through specific time points of gestation, delivery, and postpartum. At each stage, a range of biological samples—including blood, urine, saliva, hair, placenta, umbilical cord blood, and breast milk—are collected to measure various biomarkers. Participants also complete questionnaires capturing demographic, lifestyle, dietary, and environmental exposure data, alongside clinical records such laboratory tests and ultrasound results. Participants are recruited through public hospitals and private clinics in different cities in Greece from midwifes. During recruitment, participants are also provided with small portable devices that record environmental temperature throughout the day.

EVIDENCE WHERE RELEVANT:
Although epidemiological studies have identified associations between prenatal heat exposure and increased risks of preterm birth, stillbirth, and low birth weight and pregnancy complications, the underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood and further research is needed.

KEY MESSAGE:
Climate change and increasing ambient temperatures poses a public health threat, with heat waves increasingly affecting vulnerable groups. The impacts of high temperatures on pregnant women and infants, and the biological pathways behind these effects, remain poorly understood. The HIGH Horizons project will contribute evidence by quantifying heat exposure impacts and biomarker alterations. These data will support the development of climate-adaptive strategies for integrated climate adaptation interventions to protect maternal and neonatal health. Climate change 2 (including three-minute presentation competition)