Asthma in pregnancy
When you are pregnant, you are breathing for two. Managing your asthma is essential at this time in your life. Asthma in pregnancy varies a great deal from woman to woman. During pregnancy a third of women find their asthma worsens, while the rest improve or remain the same.The absolute point to remember about asthma and pregnancy is that uncontrolled asthma can be harmful for your baby. This is because during a serious attack, oxygen levels in the body are reduced and this reduces the amount available for your baby. This can result in low birth weight, premature birth and increased perinatal mortality. The pregnant mother with severe asthma may suffer from high blood pressure, vaginal haemorrhage and have labour complications.
Although avoiding triggers is difficult, if not impossible at times, it does make sense to try to be extra careful to avoid an attack. If you smoke then quit now because this also reduces the oxygen available to your child.
Some women find that their asthma improves with pregnancy. This is because progesterone, one of the hormones produced at this time, has a relaxing effect on smooth muscle. This is the type of muscle wrapped around the airways which causes chest tightness. Also, there are other huge hormonal changes and the immune system is affected greatly so that the baby and placenta are not rejected. Cortisone levels increase which may have an effect on suppressing the inflammatory processes usually taking place in the lungs. Antibodies become less numerous and less active in producing white blood cells. This is especially true of antibody IgG that is connected to prolonged asthma attacks. Levels of IgE, which is the antibody most closely linked to asthma, vary greatly from one pregnant woman to another - some having low levels and others have high.
Some mothers unfortunately have worse asthma while pregnant. This is generally between the 24 and 36 weeks of the pregnancy. There could be a number of reasons for this:
- progesterone not only relaxes smooth muscle but it also increases the breathing rate which may cause irritation to the airways
- the heaviness and inability to do things the usual way may make pregnancy a stress
- the increasingly large abdomen reduces space available for lungs, resulting in shortness of breath.
Medication Safety
You may be worried about taking medicine and not without cause. However, you need to weigh up the benefits and risks. A severe asthma attack, which reduces oxygen levels, can injure the unborn baby. Taking medication, which is not considered harmful, is a better option.Think twice about all drugs taken while pregnant - not only asthma medication but other prescribed medications, herbal products, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, etc. Sometimes antibiotics may be needed to treat chest infections. Some like penicillin (if no allergy) are considered safe, however tetracycline should not be prescribed at all.
Check with your doctor or pharmacist about the safety of all medications that you take. Even if you have not confirmed you are actually pregnant, still let your doctor know.
If the drugs you are taking are not mentioned below it does not mean they are unsafe. Check with your pharmacist or doctor to see if they are okay.
