Page - 123 - in Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change

123 activity as another potential mechanism underlying the aforementioned associations (Banay et  al. 2017). The potential mediatory role of other factors such as stress (Markevych et  al. 2014a), noise and heat exposure and social contact are yet to be investigated. 6.2 Pregnancy and  Childhood as  Important Windows of  Vulnerability An accumulating body of evidence has documented the especial vulnerability of foetuses and infants to the effects of socio-environmental factors (Nieuwenhuijsen et  al. 2013). Accordingly, pregnancy and childhood are increasingly recognised as particularly influential for shaping health over the course of life (Hines et  al. 2009). The influence of exposures during these periods is not limited to reproductive and childhood outcomes and can extend over a lifetime, as stated by the Developmental Origins of Health and Diseases (DOHaD) concept (Barker 1995; Gluckman and Hanson 2006). DOHaD suggests that environmental exposures during the prenatal and early postnatal periods may permanently alter the body’s physiology, metabo- lism and structure, and that such changes can promote disease long after the envi- ronmental exposure has ceased (Hanson et  al. 2016). In this context, the ability of green spaces to promote health and development of foetuses and children and to mitigate adverse health effects of urban-related environmental hazards such as air pollution, noise and heat could have lifelong implications. 6.3 Pregnancy Outcomes and  Complications Among different pregnancy outcomes and complications that have been evaluated in relation to maternal exposure to green spaces, the association with foetal growth was the most consistent (Banay et  al. 2017; Dzhambov et  al. 2014). Higher green- ness surrounding maternal residences has been associated with higher birth weight, higher head circumference, lower risk of low birth weight and lower risk of small- for- gestational age (Banay et  al. 2017; Dadvand et  al. 2012a, b, 2014b; Dzhambov et  al. 2014). Although less consistently shown in the literature, green spaces have been associated with longer gestational age at delivery and lower risk of preterm birth (Banay et  al. 2017). A limited body of evidence has associated green spaces with a lower risk of pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and peripartum depression (Banay et  al. 2017). These associations have been suggested to be stronger among women of lower socio-economic status (Banay et  al. 2017). A study from England reported that while for Caucasian British moth- ers there was a beneficial association between residential green spaces and birth weight, there was no such association for British mothers of Pakistani origin 6 Green Spaces and  Child Health and  Development