Introduction:
Taking good care of your asthma is especially crucial during pregnancy. 4–12% of women in their reproductive years suffer from asthma. Regarded as the most prevalent chronic illness during pregnancy, bronchial asthma complicates 4% to 8% of pregnancies. Most asthma management techniques don’t hurt your developing child, and your child will grow more effectively if you can breathe easily.
Inform every doctor you see that you suffer from asthma. Consult your allergist if you are pregnant or intend to become pregnant. With their specialized training, allergists can help you manage your asthma and live the life you desire, including getting pregnant. Effective management of asthma requires a tight collaboration with your allergist.
When you are pregnant, this may improve, worsen, or remain the same. Improvement may occur during the pregnancy.
This is more likely to worsen if it is severe. This is something you could experience in the first and third trimesters.
This enables them to change your prescription as you go along. Also, they could keep an eye on your lungs.
By controlling your asthma, you and your child can stay healthy. They have a harder time getting the oxygen they require when they are having breathing difficulties. This is particularly crucial because there is a connection between birth abnormalities and asthma attacks that occur during the first trimester.
- Breathing difficulties
- Wheezing may sound similar to whistling.
- Chest tightness
- Coughing
What Is Asthma?
A condition when the immune system is compromised causes severe difficulties with breathing naturally.
Immune cells that assault the airway tissues suddenly cause them to constrict, which lowers airflow and causes more mucus to develop.
Patients who are unable to breathe through their nose and experience dyspnea attempt to make up for this by wheezing or inhaling through their lips.
When the heart runs short of oxygen, it may beat faster to continue pumping blood.
Tightness in the chest area and a discomfort sensation may result from this.
What Does Pregnancy-Related Asthma Mean?
This is a chronic (long-lasting) condition that makes breathing difficult by narrowing and tightening your airways. Even those without asthma often experience shortness of breath during pregnancy. Those who have asthma, which includes other symptoms including wheezing, coughing fits, and tightness in the chest, may find it especially harder to breathe easily. The fetus may not be receiving enough oxygen, and you may be worried about your health as well.
Maintaining therapy is crucial if you have asthma and become pregnant to avoid flare-ups or attacks. Asthma that is not controlled can seriously endanger the health of the fetus and you.
However, if you adhere to your treatment plan and take all prescribed medications, there is no reason why you cannot have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy child.
How Will My Asthma Change During Pregnancy?
Each person’s experience with pregnancy with this is unique. At least one in three pregnant women with asthma experience worsening symptoms. One in three people, however, report that their asthma improves during pregnancy.
These are more likely to occur during pregnancy if you have severe asthma.
Breathing difficulties may be caused by natural hormonal and physical changes that take place during pregnancy. As your uterus develops and the baby grows, your lungs have less room to expand. Many pregnant women, whether or not they have asthma, experience dyspnea occasionally.
Pregnancy increases your vulnerability to viruses, including the flu and colds, which can exacerbate asthma.
Even if your asthma worsens during pregnancy, it normally returns to normal a few months following the birth of your child.
Variations in Asthma Intensity
For around one-third of pregnant women with asthma, their symptoms will worsen. A third will remain unchanged. Their asthma symptoms will get better in the final third.
Your chances of experiencing an increase or decrease in asthma symptoms during one pregnancy may be increased in subsequent pregnancies. Predicting how asthma will alter throughout pregnancy is challenging.
Because of this uncertainty, closely monitor your asthma with your specialists. This makes it possible to match every change with a suitable treatment modification quickly. You, your obstetrician, general care physician, and specialist must work together.
Dealing with Pregnancy Asthma
This is a lung condition that causes inflammation of the airways over time, which makes breathing difficult. Severe symptoms of asthma can occur at any time, and there is no known solution. The majority of people, however, can control and manage their asthma. It’s crucial to manage your asthma with your doctor during pregnancy and get medical attention when necessary.
If this is not under control, you could be at risk for preeclampsia and high blood pressure. This dangerous blood pressure condition manifests after 20 weeks of pregnancy and is accompanied by symptoms of organ system damage, such as damage to the kidneys, liver, blood, or brain. Uncontrolled asthma can also result in your infant not receiving enough oxygen, which raises their chance of developing several illnesses, such as:
- Birth prematurely
- Inadequate growth
- Low weight at birth
- Difficult labor
Pregnancy-related is controlled by keeping an eye on lung function, avoiding and managing asthma triggers, using customized pharmaceutical treatments, and remaining informed about your disease.
Since diagnosing this can be challenging, your doctor will need to gather information about your medical history, perform a physical examination, and listen to your breathing. He or she might ask you to perform a spirometry, which is a lung function test in which you exhale into a device known as a spirometer.
Both the volume and rate of your breaths are measured by the machine. You can perform this test to find out if your dyspnea is due to asthma or something else.
How Does Asthma Feel During Pregnancy?
The symptoms of asthma in pregnant women are the same as those in healthy individuals. It is possible to experience the same problems as when you are not pregnant.
- The wheezing
- Coughing
- Unable to use the nose to breathe
- Breathing difficulties
However, your physical experience of these problems may differ greatly from the typical situation. Although they may be similar, these symptoms are more severe during pregnancy.
Any symptom has the potential to become more serious and cause your body to struggle. Pregnancy may raise the risk of developing an asthma attack, according to some research.
It tends to happen more frequently, for instance. However, in certain instances, nothing happens and the frequency or intensity of these symptoms does not even rise.
Managing Your Asthma
Taking any drug while pregnant carries dangers. Physicians think that for women with asthma, the advantages exceed the risks. Keeping your condition under control will reduce your risk of issues such as preterm labor and delivery, birth weight under 5.5 pounds, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication that includes symptoms such as elevated blood pressure.
For pregnant women, budesonide is a safer daily inhaled steroid. Albuterol has few side effects and is a short-acting medication that can quickly eliminate symptoms.
If you were receiving allergy shots before becoming pregnant, you can continue, but inform your allergist about your pregnancy. They should not be started while pregnant.
Steroid medications should not be used as a daily treatment for asthma; they should only be used for severe episodes. Preterm delivery and low birth weight are possible outcomes.
Smoking can aggravate your asthma and harm your unborn child. If you are or wish to get pregnant, you should quit.
During Pregnancy, Asthma Medicines Are Safe.
Using this throughout pregnancy is very safe. Since the majority of these medications are inhaled, they enter the lungs directly. Accordingly, a tiny dosage is frequently sufficient.
The Asthalin 4 medication for asthma does not enter the bloodstream. Consequently, the majority of it avoids the infant.
Consult your physician about any worries you may have before quitting any asthma medication.
It is crucial to maintain control over your asthma during your pregnancy. Remember that your infant cannot breathe if you cannot.
Asthalin Inhaler medication won’t hurt your unborn child. Taking medication is safer for both you and your child than having uncontrolled asthma.
How Pregnancy Affects Asthma
If this is under control, neither you nor your unborn child are at any real risk, but if it is not, there may be major issues. These consequences for you, the mother, include high blood pressure, toxemia, early birth, and in rare cases, death. A higher chance of stillbirth is one of the complications for your unborn child.
Approximately one-third of women with asthma report better symptoms during pregnancy, one-third report worse symptoms, and one-third report no change at all.
Research on how pregnancy generally affects asthma has revealed the following:
- Women who have severe these are more likely to have worsening of their condition during pregnancy, while those who have mild these are more likely to experience no change or improvement.
- A woman typically undergoes similar changes in subsequent pregnancies as she did in her first.
- Weeks 24 to 36 are the most likely times for asthma to get worse.
- After giving birth, symptoms typically revert to their pre-pregnancy state if they change during pregnancy.
There are various ways that pregnancy can impact women with asthma. The hormonal changes that take place during pregnancy might have an impact on your lungs, sinuses, and nose. The rise in estrogen, particularly in the third trimester, leads to congestion, which in turn results in a stuffy nose. Shortness of breath may be brought on by an increase in progesterone. You can find out if your pregnant dyspnea is due to asthma by consulting your allergist.
Can Complications from Asthma Occur During Pregnancy?
Pregnancy is often unrelated to the development of asthma. If you believe that the lump in your abdomen is related to your asthma, you are mistaken. On the other hand, pregnant women may experience an increase in the severity or likelihood of an asthma episode.
These typically occur when you fail to use your Asthalin Respules inhaler on time and take adequate care of your health. About 45% of pregnant women experience a more severe form of asthma than they did before becoming pregnant, according to this study.
Importantly, though, each of these cases had an asthma attack before becoming pregnant. In a very small percentage of cases, patients did not experience a significant increase in asthma symptoms, even during pregnancy.
According to even more thorough research, the 29th to 36th week of pregnancy is when symptoms are most prevalent.
However, since asthma does not worsen during childbirth or delivery, there appears to be an intriguing turnabout in the situation.
The exact mechanism by which this occurs is unknown to scientists. Worst of all, don’t believe that your asthma miraculously goes away during labor and won’t return. After giving delivery, the majority of the time, the symptoms return to normal within a few months.
Additionally, if you have severe asthma attacks during pregnancy, expect the same thing to happen again if you become pregnant again.
Does Pregnancy-Related Asthma Impact The Fetus?
Can, if left untreated, endanger the fetus’s health. The final step is crucial. Maintaining your health and the well-being of the fetus during pregnancy depends on managing any medical conditions. A developing fetus may have less oxygen available in its blood if it is not controlled. It may raise your chance of experiencing pregnancy-related issues.
Most asthmatic pregnant women who have problems do so because they don’t know how to control their condition during pregnancy. They may stop taking their asthma medication, for instance, because they are concerned that it might harm the fetus. But the risks to the fetus from not addressing your condition are far greater than those from any kind of treatment.
However, managing your effectively improves your chances of enjoying a safe pregnancy and giving birth to a child.
What Are Some Pregnancy-Related Asthma Causes?
The triggers for asthma symptoms might vary from person to person and can include a variety of factors.
- Known Allergens
Allergies are present in about 70% of asthmatics. Allergens are the things that trigger symptoms of allergies, like a rash, difficulty breathing, or sneezing. Pollen, molds, dust mites, cockroaches, and animal dander are common allergies. You might get an allergy prescription from your doctor. You can continue receiving allergy injections throughout pregnancy if you have already received them. Avoid taking them when pregnant if you haven’t already, as this could result in an allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis.
- Irritants
Environmental factors that can harm your lungs include air pollution, cigarette smoke, smoke from fireplaces or wood-burning stoves, chilly air, and strong odors like paint or perfume. These can also include dust, gasses, and chemical vapors that are irritants at some workplaces.
- Workout
For some people, exercise might exacerbate their asthma symptoms, which can be exacerbated by dry, chilly air. You should be able to exercise without any problems if this is under control. Consult your physician if exercising during pregnancy causes asthma attacks.
- Diseases
Some patients experience symptoms of asthma while they have an infection such as viral pneumonia, the flu, or a cold.
Potential Difficulties during Pregnancy in Asthma
- Sudden placental death
- Pre-eclampsia
- Placenta Previa
- Maternal hemorrhage
- Abortion in the moment
- Embolism in the lungs
- Diabetes during pregnancy
- Viral infections of the respiratory system
You might also experience rhinitis, which can cause you to sneeze and have a runny, stuffy nose. Rhinitis is frequently caused by colds, and pregnant women with this may be at higher risk of contracting it.
During pregnancy, the severity of gastroesophageal reflux illness may increase. Try to eat smaller meals and avoid items that cause heartburn to feel better. Try lifting your bed’s head when you do.
Your ability to control this may be hampered by GERD and rhinitis. Similarly, sinusitis, which is more common during colds, might occur.
What Causes Asthma to Get Worse During Pregnancy?
Scientists think that pregnancy may exacerbate asthma symptoms for a few reasons. Let’s see what occurs in this scenario that increases your risk of developing the respiratory disease.
- Size Increase of the Uterus and Diaphragmatic Shift
This is one of the primary causes of the worsening of your asthma during pregnancy. You see, the uterus will enlarge in the later stages of pregnancy in preparation for the delivery of the developing baby.
The uterus’s growth creates an upward lift and force that pushes the diaphragm upward, which might lead to breathing difficulties.
- A Rise in Some Hormones
 Several hormones secrete more throughout the pregnancy period. Certain hormones have been shown to dry up the sinuses and trachea, making them more susceptible to constriction.
It appears that progesterone can also cause an increase in breathing rate, which is a common symptom of asthma.
- An Increase in Heartbeat
Because the heart must pump blood to both your body and the developing fetus in the womb, it must work substantially harder during the months of pregnancy.
This increase in heart rate is another common sign of an asthma episode.
Asking a doctor about the safety of using an inhaler such as Duolin Rotacaps and the appropriate dosage is a smart choice in all of these situations.
What Are the Treatments for Pregnancy-Related Asthma?
Women with these are treated in the same manner as those who are not pregnant. However, to prevent any difficulties, you need to pay extra attention and take special care when you are pregnant.
Steer clear of what stimulates your asthma. Stay away from those who have respiratory infections. Prevent exposure to allergens like mold, dust mites, animal dander, pollen, and secondhand smoking. You can best avoid certain allergens by working with your doctor to identify which ones cause your symptoms.
Follow your doctor’s instructions when taking your medication. Do not stop taking this Duolin Inhaler medication without first consulting your doctor if you were taking it before getting pregnant. Your doctor might recommend medication for your asthma if you are diagnosed with it after getting pregnant. For your illness, he or she will prescribe the safest drug at the right dosage.
Make routine prenatal appointments. Throughout your pregnancy, schedule frequent checkups with your doctor. You can assist your doctor manage your symptoms and guarantee a healthy pregnancy by keeping them informed and up to date on your condition.
Don’t smoke. Both you and your unborn child may experience health problems as a result of smoking during pregnancy, but smoking can exacerbate asthma, putting both of you at greater risk.
Identify the red flags. The greatest method to assist manage your disease is to remain conscious and educated about it. Become familiar with the early warning signs and symptoms of increasing asthma, such as wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and more frequent and intense coughing.
What Are the Pregnancy Treatment Options for Asthma?
The majority of the time, a doctor will change the dosage multiple times during this stage to suit both your health and the developing fetus.
Monitoring these symptoms is crucial, of course, to determine how often they occur, whether they are growing worse or occurring more frequently, and other details.
To determine whether the fetus is growing normally and exhibiting no odd symptoms, a doctor will also do several USG tests at this time.
Undoubtedly, avoiding the causes of this is one of the fundamentals.
It is vital to have a thorough understanding of the triggers for asthma attacks so that you can prevent such situations.
How Does the Fetus Get Affected by Uncontrolled Asthma?
Your blood’s oxygen concentration decreases if you have uncontrolled asthma. This may cause the fetal blood’s oxygen content to drop because the fetus receives its oxygen from your blood. Fetal growth and survival may be hampered as a result. A steady flow of oxygen is necessary for the fetus’s healthy growth and development.
It has been shown that maintaining good asthma control during pregnancy lowers the risk of fetal or neonatal death. In the uterus, it also promotes better fetal growth. Your asthma does not appear to be a contributing factor to either spontaneous abortion or congenital fetal deformity.
Take Your Asthma Medicine
Talk to your asthma doctor about your options because there are a lot of safe asthma drugs that you can take throughout pregnancy. Do not stop taking this medication before consulting your doctor if you were using it before becoming pregnant. Having this medication on hand will be crucial throughout the birth of your child. This can be included in your birthing plan if you and your healthcare team talk about it beforehand.
To manage asthma during pregnancy, expectant mothers must closely monitor their symptoms, stay away from triggers, and take their medications as prescribed by their physician. It could be dangerous for both you and your child to abruptly stop using this medication. It is crucial to receive your yearly flu shot, which is safe for pregnant women, and to keep up with your asthma care provider during your pregnancy.
When Should I Consult a Pregnancy Asthma Specialist?
Throughout your pregnancy, your doctor will need to check on your lungs and change your medication as necessary. Maintaining routine medical appointments is essential.
If you believe you have asthma. See your doctor if you have never had an asthma diagnosis before but suddenly develop regular coughing or wheezing that lasts more than a few days or any other asthmatic symptoms after becoming pregnant. Early asthma treatment can stop the condition from getting worse over time and can prevent long-term lung damage.
To assess your course of therapy. As you progress through your pregnancy, your symptoms and causes may also alter. Then, your doctor might have to modify your course of treatment. To discuss any changes in your asthma and general health, schedule routine check-ups with your physician.
If you experience worsening asthma symptoms. If your medication doesn’t help with your symptoms or you need to use your inhaler more frequently, give your doctor a call right away. Never take more medication without first talking to your physician. Using this medicine excessively can worsen your asthma and have negative side effects.
Paying attention to deteriorating symptoms is crucial if you have asthma before or if you developed it during pregnancy. Severe episodes of asthma can be fatal. Even if your doctor can help you manage your symptoms over time, you can have an asthma attack that needs immediate medical attention.
- Quick deterioration of dyspnea or wheezing
- No change following the use of a quick-relief inhaler
- Breathing difficulties when engaging in little physical activity
Seek immediate medical attention if you encounter any of these symptoms. In the event of such an emergency, consult your physician to create a plan of action.
Are Pregnancy and Asthma medications safe?
In contrast to the bloodstream, which has a direct path to the fetus, asthma inhalers appear to travel to the lungs and airways.
Using inhalers when pregnant carries virtually little risk because it doesn’t enter the bloodstream. Thus, there are no overt signs that it could harm your unborn child.
The good news is that there is very little possibility that medications like Foracort Forte Rotacaps will harm the fetus. There are birth malformations in only one out of every hundred or more cases.
However, to further reduce this danger, a doctor will continuously monitor both your health and the health of the fetus, modifying the dosages as necessary.
Last Words:
Pregnancy may exacerbate symptoms of asthma that have existed for a long time. You can still manage the problem and have a nearly normal and healthy pregnancy with the correct care and close medical supervision.
Likewise, fact sheets about asthma are available in several languages from the Medypharmacy.
