According to a Danish study of more than 15,000 twins, women with asthma take longer to get pregnant than others, especially when their disease is poorly controlled.
Poorly controlled asthma in a woman slows down the onset of pregnancy. The percentage of women who waited more than a year to conceive is higher among asthmatics, 27% compared to 21% among non-asthmatics. This observation was made by researchers at the Bispebjerg University Hospital in Denmark.
A poorly understood risk of poorly controlled asthma
They analyzed health data from a cohort of over 15,000 twins living in Denmark. Between the ages of 12 and 41, these women had to complete questionnaires on their state of health which included questions on the presence of asthma and on fertility. In this cohort, 955 participants reported a history of asthma. The researchers found that this chronic respiratory disease could slow down the conception of a child. And the risk of delayed conception is higher in women with untreated asthma (30.5%) compared to asthmatics on treatment (23.8%).
Low weight babies, premature, developmental delay …
Age is also an aggravating factor in asthmatics. Women over 30 with asthma are even more likely to wait more than a year before they can become pregnant (32.2% compared to 24.9% of women under 30). Still, reassuring news: Women with asthma eventually gave birth to the same average number of children as women without asthma. “Our results highlight the complex interactions between fertility and asthma,” said the main author, Dr Elisabeth Juul Gade.
But, our results suggest that if women take their medication and control their asthma, they can reduce this delay ”. A point of view shared by Dr Anne Prudhomme, pulmonologist at Tarbes hospital. It is essential not to stop treatment. Because uncontrolled asthma can cause major problems for the child: low birth weight, prematurity, even hypoxia which can lead to developmental delays. Women with asthma must therefore be monitored by their general practitioner and pulmonologist during their pregnancy and follow their treatment to the letter ”.
Listen to Dr Anne Prudhomme, head of the pneumology department at Tarbes hospital. ” The inflammatory phenomenon delays the implantation of the egg in the uterus. “
Safe drugs for pregnancy
“As the negative effect of asthma on fertility is reduced by treatment, we can assume that the systemic inflammation characterized by asthma may explain the effect of delaying fertility,” concluded the authors of the Danish study. For Dr Anne Prudhomme, this work pleads in favor of good treatment compliance. The pulmonologist reminds women worried about taking medication during pregnancy that the benefit / risk balance of most treatments is favorable (consult the site of the reference center on teratogenic agents). In addition, “even small asthma attacks, which do not seem very annoying for the mother, can affect the development of the fetus, underlines Dr. Anne Prudhomme.
Listen to Dr Anne Prudhomme, head of the pneumology department at Tarbes hospital. ” A pregnant asthmatic needs the disease to be in optimal control all the time. Under this condition, pregnancy does not present any more risk than for other women. “
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