Consuming asthma medication during pregnancy may increase the risk of premature births and small birth weight, a recent study released in PLOS One has found.
For the study, the data containing prescriptions of all births after 24 gestational weeks within the Wales region of England was analyzed. The data was collected between early-2000 and late-2010.
In totality, the study involved more than 38,000 infants born between that timespan and numerous more maternal prescriptions for asthma medicines.
From the findings: “Prescription of asthma medicines before or during pregnancy was associated with higher prevalence of adverse perinatal outcomes, particularly if prescriptions were discontinued during pregnancy.”
The findings also conclude, “Women discontinuing medicines during pregnancy could be identified from prescription records. The impact of targeting close monitoring and breastfeeding support warrants exploration.”
The study was authored by Gareth Davies, Sue Jordan, Daniel Thayer, David Tucker, and Ioan Humphreys.
