On Wednesday, the New York City skyline was encased in an orange haze due to wildfire smoke that had moved eastward from Canada; 100 million Americans were under air quality alerts. It was an eerie marker of the climate crisis, which is leading to longer and more intense wildfire seasons, exposing a greater number of people to wildfire smoke than before.

Studies have found that wildfire smoke is even more toxic than air pollution and is dangerous because it increases the concentration of the fine particulate matter PM2.5 in the air, pollution particles so tiny they can get into the lungs and blood, which can lead to a host of health problems.

Some people are more vulnerable to the health impacts of wildfire smoke than others, including pregnant people. And the inhalation of wildfire smoke can impact their health and pregnancies.

“A pregnant person is breathing for two,” said Dr. Marya Zlatnik, an OB-GYN at University of California San Francisco.

Pregnant people breathe more deeply than others. As a result, Zlatnik said, “they are exposed to more of whatever is in the air.”

To help pregnant people better understand the risks, The 19th spoke with Zlatnik and other experts about what the research says on wildfire smoke and pregnancy and what people can do to protect themselves.

But Zlatnik also hopes people see wildfire smoke as a call to action: “I think for everybody this really should be a wake-up call about the fact that we’re not doing enough to fix the larger problem of climate change,” she said. “I would really encourage people who are growing their families to think about the fact that the next few years are really important for us to try and bend the curve so that we don’t end up in worse shape.”

Read the full article about impact of wildfire smoke on pregnancies by Jessica Kutz at The 19th.