Journal article
Built and Social Environments, Environmental Justice, and Maternal Pregnancy Complications
Current obstetrics and gynecology reports, v 11(3), pp 169-179
01 Sep 2022
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Purpose of Review
The Environmental Justice Movement centers on addressing inequitable distribution of environmental harms in marginalized communities. It has been commonly understood as the disproportionate concentration of environmental pollutants or hazards. As such, much of the work on environmental harms and maternal pregnancy complications have focused on environmental toxins. This scoping review surveyed the literature exploring the built and social environment factors and maternal pregnancy complications among racially marginalized women and highlights how an environmental justice framework can inform policy interventions for maternal health inequities caused by structural racism in built and social environments.
Recent Findings
The literature examining the association between neighborhood level built and social environment factors and maternal pregnancy complications in the last five years is sparse. When excluding environmental toxins, we identified 16 studies that fit our criteria of neighborhood-level environmental exposure, with the majority focused on built environment factors, specifically proximity to greenspace and food environment.
Summary
We identified a few important gaps and opportunities for future research in this area. First is a need to explore additional built environment elements. Secondly, extensive research is needed on the social environment. Third is a critical understanding to incorporate structural racism and cultural perspectives to better understand these relationships in minoritized populations and highlight the intersection between environmental hazards concentration and their structural causes. Finally, an environmental justice framework is critically needed in the interpretation and translation of this literature to inform policy solutions that can counteract the harms in racially marginalized communities and improve health.
Metrics
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Details
- Title
- Built and Social Environments, Environmental Justice, and Maternal Pregnancy Complications
- Creators
- Brittney Butler - Harvard UniversityAshley Gripper - Harvard UniversityNatalia Linos - Harvard University
- Publication Details
- Current obstetrics and gynecology reports, v 11(3), pp 169-179
- Publisher
- Springer US
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Community Health and Prevention; Environmental and Occupational Health
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000796805600001
- Other Identifier
- 991021894520304721
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InCites Highlights
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- Web of Science research areas
- Obstetrics & Gynecology