Though the weather may be cold now, before we know it, the temperatures will rise and workers in North Carolina will continue to be made ill, and even die, from excessive heat. We know that 2023 was the hottest summer on record in the Northern Hemisphere and 2024 is also expected to be a scorcher. This new year is a new opportunity for worker protection agencies in North Carolina to address the threat of heat, and it couldn’t be more urgent for the pregnant workers and their unborn children who are suffering.
As a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit I’ve seen a mix of miracles and devastation. In the NICU some of the most advanced medicine available is practiced on human beings weighing less than 1 kilogram, and often this medicine is lifesaving. I’ve watched as families were able to take their babies home after nearly a year in the hospital, and I’ve also watched parents say goodbye to their babies who never had a chance to leave the building. But the NICU should be a last resort and fewer babies shouldn’t need to be hospitalized. Ensuring pregnant workers are protected from extreme heat has the potential to lead to fewer babies ever needing to go to the NICU.