The first 1,000 days of life are crucial in a child’s cognitive and physical development. The Developmental Origins of Health & Disease hypothesis postulates that early life stressors not only disrupt foetal development but also increase the risk of later life disease. Environmental disasters introduce both physical and psychological stressors to a pregnancy which can trigger such adverse outcomes. 

This research aimed to conduct a mixed-method interdisciplinary investigation into an association between cyclone events and perinatal health outcomes by bringing together evolutionary theory and epidemiological methods. This was achieved by analysing quantitative population records, and qualitative survey and interview data collected across Queensland, Australia. In this seminar, key research findings will be presented and their implications for current and future disaster risk research and practice will be discussed.

Speaker

Ms Cynthia Parayiwa is a PhD candidate in Biological Anthropology. Her research interests in Biological Anthropology. Her research interests include perinatal health, disasters, GIS, and data analysis. She has been a research officer/data analyst at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for six years and currently works in the Maternal and Perinatal Health Unit looking at maternal and perinatal mortality data. She also volunteers time supporting the Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease.