If you suffer from asthma your doctor will probably want to know how severe your condition is to determine the degree of medication necessary during pregnancy. You may tested for various triggers including colds, flu, pollen, smoke and animal dander.
Your doctor will probably ask you to perform a breathing test, or spirometry, using a Peak Flow Meter. Shortness of breath is a common pregnancy symptom and a breathing test may help you and your doctor distinguish the difference between your asthma and pregnancy related symptoms.
There are several things you can do to help reduce the risk of triggering an asthma attack. Protect yourself from the 'flu by getting vaccinated. Washing your hands frequently will also reduce the chance of getting a cold, and will help keep dust, animal dander and other irritants away from your eyes and face.
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You are probably already experienced at recognizing the symptoms that trigger an attack. During your pregnancy you will become very aware of any changes in your breathing, an itchy throat or coughing, excessive fatigue, headaches or other triggers.
There is no way to predict how asthma will affect your pregnancy. Half of all pregnant women who suffer from asthma see no change in their condition during pregnancy. About one quarter find that their asthma symptoms improve during pregnancy while the rest find that the condition gets worse. Whatever effect the asthma has on your pregnancy it will act the same way in future pregnancies. Some experts suggest that increasing fluid intake during pregnancy reduces the risk of a severe asthma attack, and most suggest that there is a slight increase in premature labor. Some women find that a side effect of asthma is thrush, a condition which is often aggravated by pregnancy.
If you have asthma it is important to make every effort to reduce the risk of triggering an attack. During pregnancy your heart is already overworked and an attack will only increase the strain. Although asthma that is controlled with appropriate medication causes few problems with the fetus, severe asthma that requires hospitalization and oral medications may sufficiently reduce the supply of oxygen to the fetus causing distress. If you are required to enter hospital to control your asthma your doctor will monitor the well-being of the baby while the condition is treated.
While the incidence of asthma and allergies among pregnant women has increased, studies suggest that there is no increase in the risk of birth defects or other complications. Make sure your doctor and a respiratory specialist approve the medications you are using to control your asthma during pregnancy.
When approved by your doctor there seems to be little risk to the fetus from asthma medication and no increase in the incidence of congenital abnormalitiesAny abnormality which is present at birth. Also called birth defects, they can arise from genetic inheritance or acquired during gestation through disease or drugs.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions.. Your baby has a fifty percent (1 in 2) chance of developing asthma, and the risk rises to 75 percent (3 in 4) if the father is also asthmatic. There is a six percent (3 in 50) chance your baby will develop asthma during the first twelve months after delivery.
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Studies suggest that asthma increases the incidence of premature labor. If you are asthmatic it will be important for you to plan your labor and delivery carefully. Your doctor will need to make sure that any medication you use does not conflict with the pain relief options you are provided. If a cesarean section is planned the anestheticAn agent or process that removes the body's sensitivity to pain. Anesthetics are usually medically administered chemicals, although they include other forms such as hypnosis, or the body's own ability to cause numbness through shock.
Anesthetics can either be local, whereby only a portion of the body or an individual organ is desensitized or general, in which the entire body is desensitized, with the result the patient is often temporarily unconcious.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. must be compatible with your medication: it is also often necessary to administer theophylline intravenously during a cesarean section. Your doctor will probably recommend an epidural blockA regional anesthetic introduced into the base of the spine used during labor and for cesarean sections. Also known as an epidural block.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions., saddle block or other local anesthetic instead of a general anesthetic during the operation so that you can continue using your inhaler if necessary.
Breastfeeding is considered safe for women who suffer from asthma. Make sure you doctor approves your medication before nursing.
Most doctors prescribe a combination of bronchodilator drugs and inhaled steroidsMedications derived from hormones including estrogen, testoterone, progesterone and prednisone, that are used to treat various diseases.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. to control asthma. It is generally considered that these drugs used to control a severe asthma attack are safer for the baby than the condition if left untreated. It is important that you don't stop taking your asthma medication upon confirmation of your pregnancy.
Your doctor will probably reduce the dosage prescribed to the minimum necessary to control your condition. Inhaled medications are considered safer during pregnancy because smaller quantities of the drugs cross the placentaThe placenta is a large disk shaped membrane responsible for providing nourishment to the fetus during pregnancy. It consists of three parts, the fetal part made up from the chorion membrane surrounding the fetus, the maternal part, formed from the decidua basalis layer of the uterine lining, and the intervillous space between the two plates. It is connected to the fetus by the umbilical cord and consists of tissue from both the mother and the embryo.
Its function is complex. It has been described as a simple organ that combines the functions of a kidney-dialysis machine, heart and lung machine and intravenous drip. It consists of enormous numbers of blood vessel branches that permit the exchange of nutrition and oxygen, from the mother's bloodstream to the fetus and the removal of wastes to the mother to be excreted. The placenta's remarkable quality is that it does so without the blood of the mother mixing with that of the baby.
It also is responsible for the production of vital hormones including, estrogen, progesterone, and human chorionic gonadotropin. After birth, the placenta is delivered, and is sometimes referred to as the afterbirth.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions..
If you have a severe asthma attack that requires hospitalization you will be monitored to ensure that you and the baby are receiving enough oxygen. Sometimes theophylline may be introduced intravenously instead of oxygen or corticosteroids or in addition to them.
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