The safety of asthma medications during pregnancy

This article reviews the literature on asthma or use of antiasthmatic drugs during pregnancy, the impact on pregnancy and delivery outcome, and on the infant born. Some anomalies have been demonstrated. It is unclear if these are due to asthma or are the effect of antiasthma drug use. The former explanation appears to be most likely, and the outcome appears to co-vary with the severity of the disease. Therefore, an adequate therapy of asthma is important during pregnancy, and although a small increase in certain congenital malformations may exist, this is of little significance for the individual patient. Further efforts should be made to isolate the possible specific effects of antiasthmatic drugs, notably for recent additions to the therapeutic arsenal.