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Asthma is a fairly prevalent condition which can occur at any age and normally presents with symptoms such as breathlessness, coughing and wheezing. Pregnancy may aggravate asthma, some even develop asthma or may become manifest during pregnancy. Inhalers are the mainstay of treatment where compliance is a must with the right technique. In addition, if a patient has allergic tendencies, then they may be on an anti-histamine (anti-allergy) tablet. TheHealthSite.com spoke to Dr Nimish Shah, Pulmonologist, Jaslok Hospital and Research Center to understand more about both the condition and ways one can manage asthma and pregnancy together.
Asthma care should be taken with good control and compliance from the time that pregnancy is detected. Good control is important for the health of the mother and the baby as inadequate asthma control leads to less oxygen delivery to the baby. If the expectant mother is already on inhalers, these must be continued as per the dose prescribed by the doctor. Asthma flare-ups are more frequent in the third trimester as the size of the baby grows, it pushes the diaphragm up and reduces the lung volumes and hence lung compliance. In this case, if the mother is experiencing increasing symptoms in terms of breathlessness and coughing or wheezing, the dose must be up titrated.