Definition of maternal H2S exposure
Women were considered exposed to H2S if they were living
and/or workplace in cities along the Atlantic coast of Martinique, which
are known to witness sargassum strandings since 2016. Air pollution by
H2S were previously identified by a network of ground
sensors deployed at these regularly impacted areas along the north
central and south Atlantic coast of Martinique. Only women located at a
maximum distance of 2000 meters from the closest monitoring site were
selected. In this way, all cases that occurred too far from the
monitoring sites were excluded, because H2S levels
cannot be representative of individual exposure at such distances. All
women living and/or workplace in cities outside of the Atlantic coast
were assumed to be not exposed to H2S.