Sunday, October 5, 2008

The Danger of Asthma During Pregnancy


This may also startle you. "Asthma is the most common chronic condition in pregnancy. Despite the frequently held notion that it is harmless, asthma can cause tremendous morbidity to both the fetus and the mother. In fact, severe and/or poorly controlled asthma has been associated with numerous adverse perinatal outcomes," according to Markus Little, MD and Richard Sinert, DO. Some of those dire outcomes include including preeclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension, uterine hemorrhage, premature birth, congenital anomalies, fetal growth restriction, and low birth weight. If someone you know is pregnant, she may want to take preventive steps now to clean the air at home - the one place where she can reduce the chances of an asthma attack. Relatedly, there's a study that could increase a pregnant woman's stress. It found that women who are stressed during pregnancy bear children who are "at a greater risk for allergies or asthma."

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