Asthma And Pregnancy-Preparing For Pregnancy
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by: Jackie De Burca
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Word Count: 530
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 Time: 5:43 PM
If asthma is kept well controlled, it should have no effect on your pregnancy, or labour or breastfeeding. It is unlikely that you will get asthma during pregnancy if you didn't have the condition previously. However women who may have forgotten having asthma when they were young children need to be aware that they are candidates for a re-occurrence of asthma in pregnancy.
For those women who are pregnant with asthma, the potential effects of the condition during pregnancy can be quite different. One third of women will actually see an improvement in their asthma, one third will experience no changes and one third will find that their asthma symptoms become worse.
Asthma-Preparing For Pregnancy
In general the milder the asthma, the less likely it is for any significant change in the asthmatic symptoms during pregnancy to occur. However regardless of this, the most important first step is to establish an asthma pregnancy action plan with your doctor. This means that as an asthmatic you can be prepared for pregnancy, and then during pregnancy this can be reviewed, along with your lung function, every so often with your doctor.
If you have asthma you will fully appreciate that horrible feeling of trying to breathe, when the asthma becomes severe. This comes from the fact that the small tubes which carry air to and from your lungs are more sensitive. For people who have asthma these small tubes can become irritated and swollen, also causing the tubes to narrow. Then this can cause coughing, wheezing and possible a tightening in the chest, which in some cases can become extreme.
So along with a pre-planned asthma pregnancy action plan it is wise to adopt a healthy eating and healthy habits plan before becoming pregnant, as if done appropriately, this should strengthen you system overall. You may even wish to consider some yoga, tai chi or other practices which focus on breathing and movement, in a gentle way.
Asthma During Pregnancy
During pregnancy you should continue on your asthma medication and carry out an asthma pregnancy action plan. Did you know that it is very often the women who stop taking their regular asthma preventer who have a higher risk of a serious asthma attack?
For women who do encounter a worsening of their symptoms, some urgent medical care may be necessary. As an asthmatic, avoiding stress and allergens can be of some help to avoid the worsening of symptoms.
There is evidence that babies born to women who have had uncontrolled severe asthma have lower birth weights, and can also be born prematurely. A good asthma pregnancy action plan aims to avoid these occurrences.
Asthma Medications And Pregnancy
Remember that the vast majority of asthma medications which are used to treat asthma have a far lower risk to an unborn baby than the possible effects of a severe or uncontrolled asthma attack.
Inhaled preventer medications are used by pregnant women worldwide safely. In rare cases of very severe attacks, there are some medications that may need to be used, when all other medications have not been successful. These do carry risks but these situations are infrequent and your doctor would explain the risks to you.
About the Author
Want to read more valuable information on having a healthy pregnancy? Visit the blog of Merrion Fetal Health and the main site, where you can make an appointment for a pregnancy scan Dublin, in this medically led ultrasound clinic. http://www.merrionfetalhealth.ie/
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