Addressing Environmental Contributors to Women’s Health

cross the life course, women’s health is increasingly affected by climate change and environmental contaminants. Catalysed by the urgency of the climate crisis and a commitment to advancing women’s health, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has established the Collaborative for Women’s Environmental Health.

Studies show that women’s health conditions, including cancer, obesity, infertility, obstetric complications, and more, all have ties to environmental exposures. For many of these conditions with environmental links, our ability to treat them is limited and related health outcomes are only getting worse. Accordingly, it is essential to understand and address the environmental contributors to disease, with an emphasis on supporting vulnerable communities who disproportionately face these harmful exposures.

Led by founding director Blair Wylie, MD, MPH, the Collaborative for Women’s Environmental Health aims to support healthy, sustainable and equitable environments for women and their families on a global scale. An accomplished maternal-fetal medicine specialist and researcher, Dr. Wylie was introduced to the field of environmental health while studying for her Master of Public Health degree at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. While enrolled in an environmental health course, Dr. Wylie attended a lecture on the negative health impacts of cooking smoke, which sparked her interest. Taking her interest outside of the classroom, Dr. Wylie would then go on to work on a stove trial in Ghana and participate in other research projects focused on the global impacts of climate change and environmental exposures in Nigeria and Pakistan. These experiences continue to inform Dr. Wylie’s work at the Collaborative for Women’s Environmental Health. “The world is vast but not so very different, pollution anywhere is pollution everywhere,” says Dr. Wylie.

The Collaborative for Women’s Environmental Health supports optimal health for women, their families, and their communities with work across four key areas: research, education, sustainability, and community engagement/advocacy.

Through research, the collaborative attempts to understand how environmental exposures and climate change impact women’s health and reproductive health. These research projects are driven by community priorities and findings are used to identify solutions for reducing harmful environmental exposures. Since returning to Columbia, Dr. Wylie and the collaborative have published research on how a variety of prenatal environmental exposures including extreme heat, pesticides, cooking smoke, air pollution, and plastics impact pregnancy outcomes.

Education is a second crucial piece of the Collaborative for Women’s Environmental Health. To support education and communications efforts, the collaborative provides consultations to patients and providers regarding environmental exposures and concerns. Additionally, the collaborative will work to increase environmental health literacy among women’s health providers and translate scientific findings into accessible communications materials for providers and the general public.

Sustainability and promoting climate resilience is a third focus for the collaborative. Initiatives related to this area include leading regional preparation for climate emergencies and assisting in hospital-wide efforts to reduce and eliminate carbon emissions.

Lastly, the Collaborative for Women’s Environmental Health also engages in environmental health advocacy work. This component often involves partnering with community-based organizations to advocate for safer environments, advising governmental leaders on policy, and building networks between local environmental justice organizations and global women’s health initiatives.

The Collaborative for Women’s Environmental Health is a transformative addition to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). “We are thrilled to have recruited Dr. Wylie back to Columbia to lead this innovative work in climate change and environmental health, especially as we see these issues become more urgent by the day,” shared Dr. Mary D’Alton, Chair of the Department of Ob/Gyn at CUIMC.

Taking action around the climate crisis and other environmental health threats requires the engagement of clinicians, public health experts, researchers, activists and policymakers. With a dynamic, multifaceted approach to understanding and addressing women’s environmental health, this collaborative is committed to establishing a healthier environment for current and future generations.