How Cope With Your Asthma Whilst You Are Pregnant

How should I care for my asthma while I'm pregnant?

A third of patients who become pregnant find that their asthma gets worse. About a third find their asthma gets better, and in about a third there's no change at all. There's no really good way to predict what's going to happen, but the bottom line is that when women have asthma, and they're having asthma attacks and not getting enough oxygen, that can create some problems with the developing fetus. So, the key is to remember that, in most cases, your asthma just doesn't disappear because you're pregnant and, therefore, you need to be treated for your asthma because the disease actually can cause more problems than the medication. The majority of the medications are taken by inhalation and have very little effect on the fetus when the mother is pregnant. In fact, most of the studies have shown that the medicines that we use to treat asthma - inhaled cortico steroids, the short acting broncho dilators, the long acting broncho dilators - all are very safe to use during pregnancy. Certainly, talk to your doctor. Let your doctor know that you're pregnant, and have the doctor adjust the medications so that you get the medications that are safest for your developing baby, but that you don't allow your asthma to get out of control where you're having difficulty breathing, which is a danger to your baby.