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Updated: May 19, 2026

Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels
05:31

Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels

Published on: August 7, 2017

Effects of asthma severity, exacerbations and oral corticosteroids on perinatal outcomes

Jennifer A Namazy1, Vanessa E Murphy, Heather Powell

  • 1Dept of Allergy–Immunology, Scripps Clinic, San Diego, CA 92108, USA. janamazy@mac.com

The European Respiratory Journal
|August 21, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Maternal asthma exacerbations and corticosteroid use increase risks for low birth weight and preterm delivery. Moderate-to-severe asthma during pregnancy is linked to small for gestational age and low birth weight infants.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Pulmonology
  • Neonatology

Background:

  • Asthma is a common chronic respiratory condition affecting women of reproductive age.
  • Poorly controlled asthma during pregnancy can lead to adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.
  • The specific impact of asthma exacerbations, corticosteroid use, and severity on perinatal outcomes requires further clarification.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and meta-analyze the association between maternal asthma exacerbations, oral corticosteroid use, asthma severity, and prematurity and intrauterine growth restriction.
  • To quantify the risks of specific perinatal outcomes in relation to maternal asthma control.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies published between 1975 and March 2012.
  • Inclusion of nine studies reporting perinatal outcomes (low birth weight, preterm birth, small for gestational age) stratified by maternal asthma status.
  • Statistical analysis using relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Main Results:

  • Maternal asthma exacerbations were significantly associated with low birth weight (RR 3.02) and preterm delivery (RR 1.54).
  • Oral corticosteroid use in asthmatic mothers was linked to low birth weight (RR 1.41) and preterm delivery (RR 1.51).
  • Moderate-to-severe maternal asthma increased the risk of small for gestational age (RR 1.24) and low birth weight (RR 1.15) infants.

Conclusions:

  • Asthma exacerbations, oral corticosteroid use, and moderate-to-severe asthma during pregnancy are associated with adverse perinatal outcomes.
  • These outcomes include preterm delivery, low birth weight, and small for gestational age infants.
  • Further research is needed to understand the effect of maternal asthma control on perinatal health.

Keywords:
Asthmalow birth weightoral corticosteroidpre-term deliverypregnancysmall for gestational age

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