Asthma is more common lung disease chronic among pregnant women, whose prevalence has been increasing in recent decades you. Currently, it is estimated that between 1-7% of pregnant women suffer from asthma.
Pregnancy is a particularly sensitive period, so if the woman does not take adequate treatment, it can increase the risk of suffering exacerbations and lose control of the disease.
Does Asthma Get Worse With Pregnancy?
If you are pregnant and you are asthmatic, but your disease is well controlled and you have adequate medical follow-up, there is no reason to worry, since it is most likely that your pregnancy will pass completely normally.
It is difficult to prevent how the disease will progress as the pregnancy progresses, but in general, those women who have severe asthma before becoming pregnant are those at greatest risk of worsening during pregnancy, especially during pregnancy. first and third trimesters.
Therefore, it is essential that the patient is monitored at all times, all relevant medication and strictly follow the specialist’s instructions.
The risks of poorly controlled asthma during pregnancy
Unfortunately, there is still a false belief that asthma drugs can harm pregnancy in some way, so many asthmatic women stop taking them without medical consent or vary their treatment guidelines , increasing the risk of complications that could affect you her and her baby.
Among the main risks for the mother of poorly controlled asthma are the following:
- Preeclampsia and gestational diabetes in pregnant women with obesity
- Hyperhemesis gravidarum
- Ante- and postpartum hemorrhage
- Previous placenta
- Premature membrane rupture
- Preterm delivery
- Increased risk of cesarean section
For the baby, the risks of poor asthma control during pregnancy are:
- Restricted fetal growth
- Premature birth
- Low birth weight
- Post-birth complications, such as hyperbilirubinemia, newborn respiratory distress, or cerebral hemorrhage.
- Poorly controlled asthma produces a decrease in maternal blood oxygen and therefore a decrease in the supply of oxygen available for the correct development of the baby. Therefore, in very serious cases, the life of the baby could be in danger.
Asthma Medication and Pregnancy: Are They Compatible?
Although it is known that any medication taken during pregnancy can carry risks for the fetus, it is necessary to assess whether these risks exceed those that would occur in the case of not taking the medication.
If we talk about asthma, we have already seen the serious risks for mother and baby that poorly controlled asthma can bring about not taking medications or taking them in inappropriate doses.
Consult your doctor as soon as possible to tell you how to proceed, if it is necessary to change the medication you take for another, as well as the most appropriate dose for your condition and symptoms.
If you are asthmatic and plan to get pregnant, it is recommended that you tell your gynecologist at the preconception consultation, in order to establish safe guidelines and know how to act from the moment you confirm your pregnancy.
Treatment of asthma during pregnancy generally follows the same therapeutic steps as current guidelines for asthma management. Thus, the drugs most frequently used during pregnancy are short-acting bronchodilators (used for both rescue and crisis prevention) and inhaled corticosteroids (anti-inflammatory drugs to control the disease).
Asthma requires a multidisciplinary approach during pregnancy (midwives, obstetricians, pulmonologists or allergists and primary care physicians), in addition to a rigorous follow-up during the nine months of gestation .
In this sense, it will be necessary to evaluate the disease at each visit, not only with control questionnaires, but with other tests and objective measures (spirometry and the measurement of nitric oxide in exhaled air) that help determine the patient’s condition.
Other non-pharmacological measures that you should take into account
But in addition to the medication prescribed by your doctor, if you are asthmatic and pregnant you should take the following precautions:
- Avoid those factors that could trigger an asthmatic attack , such as physical exercise not indicated by your doctor, tobacco smoke or exposure to any other substance that irritates your lungs or emotional stress.
- Upper respiratory diseases (including sinusitis) can cause asthma attacks or exacerbate symptoms. For this reason, it is important to avoid them as much as possible with safety and prevention measures, and if they occur, consult a doctor from the appearance of the first symptoms.
- If, in addition to being asthmatic, you are allergic , it is essential to carry out adequate medical control of your allergy, as well as to follow basic recommendations to prevent or mitigate allergic symptoms.
- Monitor the weight you gain during pregnancy , as excess kilos can increase the risk of asthma attacks. Studies link a gain of more than five kilos in the first trimester with an increased risk of asthma exacerbation.
Photos | iStock
Pathway Asthma Treatment and Management During Pregnancy, Asthma and Pregnancy, Mayo Clinic
In Babies and More | Asthma in children: what are the symptoms and how to control it, One more benefit in the long list: breastfeeding also protects babies from asthma, “Asthma and pregnancy, two scenarios to take care of”, a complete application, They will study whether pregnancy of a man is more bearable for asthmatics
