Asthma During PregnancyAsthma is a fairly common health problem for pregnant women, including some women who have never had it before. During pregnancy, asthma not only affects you, but it can also cut back on the oxygen your fetus gets from you. But this does not mean that having asthma will make your pregnancy more difficult or dangerous to you or your fetus. Pregnant women who have asthma that is properly controlled generally have a normal pregnancy with little or no increased risk to themselves or their developing babies. Most asthma treatments are safe to use when you are pregnant. After years of research, experts now say that it is far safer to manage your asthma with medicine than it is to leave asthma untreated during pregnancy. Talk to your doctor about the safest treatment for you. Risks of uncontrolled asthma to pregnant womenIf you have not previously had asthma, you may not think that shortness of breath or wheezing during your pregnancy is asthma. If you know you have asthma, you may not consider it a concern if you only have mild symptoms. But asthma can affect you and your fetus, so you should act accordingly. If your asthma is not controlled, risks to your health include: footnote 1, footnote 2
Risks to the fetus include: footnote 1, footnote 2
The more control you have over your asthma, the less risk there is. Asthma treatment and pregnancyPregnant women manage asthma the same way nonpregnant women do. Like all people with asthma, pregnant women need to have an asthma action plan to help them control inflammation and prevent and control asthma attacks . Part of a pregnant woman's action plan should be to record fetal movements. You can do this by noting whether fetal kicks decrease over time. If you notice less fetal activity during an asthma attack, contact your doctor or emergency help immediately to get instructions. Things to think about for asthma in pregnant women include the following:
Asthma and allergiesMany women also have allergies, such as allergic rhinitis, along with asthma. Treating allergies is an important part of asthma management.
Asthma medicines and pregnancyA review of the animal and human studies on the effects of asthma medicines taken during pregnancy found few risks to the woman or her fetus. It is safer for a pregnant woman with asthma to be treated with asthma medicines than for her to have asthma symptoms and asthma attacks. footnote 1 Poor control of asthma is a greater risk to the fetus than asthma medicines are. footnote 1 Budesonide is labeled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the safest inhaled corticosteroid to use during pregnancy. One study found that low-dose inhaled budesonide in pregnant women seemed to be safe for the mother and the fetus. footnote 3 Never stop taking or reduce your medicines without talking to your doctor. You might have to wait until your pregnancy is over to make changes in your medicine. Always talk to your doctor before using any medicine when you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant.
Current as of: November 20, 2015 Author: Healthwise Staff Medical Review: E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Rohit K Katial, MD - Allergy and Immunology National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (2005). Working Group Report on Managing Asthma During Pregnancy: Recommendations for Pharmacologic Treatment Update 2004 (NIH Publication No. 05-5236). Available online: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/astpreg.htm.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2008, reaffirmed 2009). Asthma in pregnancy. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 90. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 111(2): 457–464.
Silverman M, et al. (2005). Outcome of pregnancy in a randomized controlled study of patients with asthma exposed to budesonide. Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, 95(6): 566–570.
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