New Asthma Guidelines for Pregnant Women

The first new guidelines in more than a decade for managing asthma in pregnant women have been issued by a panel of experts. A summary of the guidelines was published in the January 2005 issue of the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.

The guidelines reflect new medications for asthma and updated recommendations for treatment based on a review of safety data. Controlling asthma during pregnancy is important for the health of the mother as well as for the developing fetus. Maternal asthma is associated with increased risk of infant death, preeclampsia, premature birth, and low birth weight. The guidelines recommend that doctors who provide obstetric care to asthma patients should also monitor asthma severity during prenatal visits.

A recent study by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Bethesda, MD, USA) showed that asthma worsens in about 30% of pregnant women who have mild asthma at the beginning of their pregnancy. The study also found that asthma improved in 23% of women who had moderate or severe asthma.

The key recommendations of the panel are as follows. Women should use albuterol as a quick-relief medication to treat asthma symptoms. Women who have symptoms at least two days a week or two nights a month have persistent asthma and need daily medication for long-term care. Inhaled corticosteroids are the preferred medication to control the inflammation. If her asthma is not well controlled with corticosteroids, a woman should either increase the dose or add another medication, a long-acting beta agonist.

"Simply put, when a pregnant patient has trouble breathing, her fetus also has trouble getting the oxygen it needs,” remarked William W. Busse, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin Medical School (Madison, USA) and chair of the U.S. National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) expert panel that developed the guidelines. The NAEPP is administered by the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).




Related Links:
U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
University of Wisconsin
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute