Health — women’s health in particular — is affected by the environment, both by natural climate change and by the remnants of industrial pollution in Lake County and beyond. A heat wave makes it worse.
Dr. Regina de Leon Gomez, an OB-GYN physician as well as a professor at Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, said environmental changes can have an even more serious impact on pregnant women.
When heat increases in places with poor air quality, Gomez said it exacerbates the conditions, creating a less healthy environment. It can cause an increase in blood pressure. It can also increase stress levels.
“As heat increases, the temperature inside a person will change,” Gomez said. “Pollution worsens the ground-level ozone. We know poor air quality worsens the situation.”
Gomez teaches healthcare workers focused on women’s health about the connection between medicine and the environment through July 20 in a Maternal and Environmental Health Training program at the Brushwood Center at Reyerson Woods in Riverwoods so they can help patients.
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A collaboration between Brushwood, Rosalind Franklin and the Illinois Public Health Association, Ashley Cullen-Williams, Brushwood’s senior program director, said the group consists of two cohorts of 10 students each.
Cullen-Williams said the program brings community healthcare workers like doulas, home visitors, case workers and community healthcare workers who have close relationships with women — particularly those who are pregnant.
“We teach them about the relationship between health and the environment,” Cullen-Williams said. “They learn about the impact on women who may not have access to air conditioning. They learn to acknowledge the relationship between the environment and healthy outcomes.”
Holding the first session in person at the Brushwood Center in June, Cullen-Williams said the next five classes will be conducted virtually so the students can learn at their own pace within a prescribed timeframe. They come together in person for the final class on July 20.
“Every mother is impacted by environmental conditions,” Cullen-Williams said. “By helping them give their children a healthier life, we are making an impact on the future. We put the student in a position to advocate for their patients. We want to empower the mothers through their helpers.”
Though much of the effort concentrates on the period of time a woman becomes pregnant through the birth of their child, Tracey Smith, the associate executive director of public health of the Illinois Public Health Association, said the overall timeframe is longer.
“Women’s health becomes unique to them from their first period until their 40s or later, when they can no longer conceive on their own,” Smith said. “There is a focus on conception through birth. Healthy mothers create healthy families, and healthy families strengthen the community.”
Climate change and the environment have long been issues impacting healthcare and the needs of women in particular, but the recent heat wave in the Chicago area has created a greater focus. Smith said summers were not as hot years ago, before the planet started warming more and more.
“We want to train healthcare workers to identify the risks and the reasons for the risks,” Smith said. “They can make their patients aware of the risks so they can take (the necessary) precautions.”
Gomez said environmental conditions can increase the risks of other conditions in a home, which can harm women and their children. When their mental health is affected, the stress levels increase, and it can become worse for the mother and child.
“Worsening mental health can lead to increased sexual violence,” Gomez said. “This has been documented.”
While parts of Lake County have abundant resources, people have ways to shelter from extreme heat. In some locales, there is little exposure to contamination from industrial pollution. Gomez said it is not the case for everyone.
“Lake County is a diverse area with marginalized populations,” Gomez said. “Moving to more affordable areas means they can have more problems with their health. It’s important they have the education and knowledge to have better healthcare.”