Home  Asthma Questions and answers about asthma Asthma and pregnancy
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| Will my asthma affect my pregnancy? | No, if treated and kept under control, your asthma will not affect your pregnancy. Both you and your unborn child can be at risk if your asthma is uncontrolled during your pregnancy. |
| I'm pregnant. Will asthma medication harm my baby? | You should discuss this question fully with your doctor. If your asthma is uncontrolled during your pregnancy, both you and your unborn child can be at risk, so medication is usually needed. A high dose of certain airway opener medications can occasionally reduce the strength of the contractions during delivery. If different doctors are caring for your asthma and your pregnancy and delivery, they should jointly agree with you on the asthma medications you will use during pregnancy and around the time of labour. Most modern drugs used in asthma have not been extensively studied in pregnant women, but one inhaled corticosteroid – budesonide – has been thoroughly researched and no adverse consequences for mother or baby has been shown. |
| Is there an effective alternative to using inhaled corticosteroids? | There are no alternatives that control asthma as effectively as corticosteroids. Corticosteroids can be taken in tablet or liquid form, but these preparations have greater side effects than inhaled corticosteroids and should only be used if the inhaled form does not work. |
| How can pregnancy affect my asthma? | Pregnancy can cause asthma to get better or worse. However, it is important that you do not change or reduce your asthma medication without speaking to the doctor or nurse who is caring for your asthma. Poorly treated asthma is usually more dangerous to the baby than any possible risk associated with an asthma medication. |
| Will asthma medication harm my baby when breastfeeding? | | If you are breastfeeding or intending to breastfeed, you should discuss this with your doctor. Although asthma medications do enter breast milk, the concentrations are usually extremely small and are very unlikely to affect your baby. |
| I have asthma. Does this mean my children will have asthma? | | While the tendency to asthma can be inherited, this does not necessarily mean that your children will do so or will develop asthma. You should discuss the risk of asthma for your children with your doctor. |
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