Asthma and Pregnancy

The treatment goal for the pregnant asthma patient is to provide optimal therapy to maintain control of asthma for maternal health and quality of life as well as for normal fetal maturation, as per the National Asthma Education Prevention Program (NAEPP). Minimal or no adverse effects from medications.

During the course of their pregnancy, studies show that 20% of asthma patients have exacerbations severe enough to seek urgent medical care. Approximately 6% require hospital admissions.

Pregnancy will not necessarily make your asthma worse or more symptomatic. Studies of asthma in pregnancy reveal that about one third of pregnant women with asthma will have no change in the degree of their asthma; one third will experience a lessening of their asthma symptoms and a decreased need for medication; and one third of will have worsening of the asthma in pregnancy.

Yes, while you are pregnant, you should see your asthma specialist more frequently than before. In my practice, for example, I ask my pregnant patients with asthma to see me on a monthly basis, with about the same frequency that they visit the obstetrician. Some women may require more frequent appointments, and some less.

Many studies have been carried out all over the world to help doctors decide which asthma medicines are “safest” in pregnancy. The single biggest risk to an asthmatic woman’s pregnancy is poor asthma control in the mother.