TITLE:
Oil Spills, Gas Flaring and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: A Systematic Review
AUTHORS:
Onome B. Oghenetega, Godson R. E. E. Ana, Michael A. Okunlola, Oladosu A. Ojengbede
KEYWORDS:
Oil Spills, Gas Flaring, Pregnancy Outcomes
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.10 No.1,
January
16,
2020
ABSTRACT: Oil spills and gas flaring are major environmental problems and pose
major source of adverse health outcomes to communities hosting oil wells and natural
gas. As oil is spilt and gas is flared; air, soil and water in affected communities
are polluted. Due to this, members of these communities are exposed to higher
health risks. One vulnerable group that is usually affected in this regard is pregnant women. This systematic review identified and reviewed past studies on
oil pollution and different types of pregnancy outcomes within a twenty-year
gap, which is between 1999 and 2019. The review also discussed the exposure
pathways of oil pollution. From a literature search on scientific databases
conducted in August 2019 for articles relating to the objectives of the review,
data were extracted from articles which met the inclusion criteria and contents
were systematically analyzed based on types of pregnancy outcomes. This review
showed that oil spill and gas flaring may put pregnant women at high
risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes mellitus,
maternal depression, miscarriages via three pathways. This review may be of
some use in making policy in this area.