Asthma in the pregnant adolescent: a review

Adolescent pregnancy has increased in the past decade (1-5), often in association with poverty, poor education, and inadequate prenatal care. While it has been suggested that adverse pregnancy outcomes are more common among adolescents in the inner city, recent data show that in a white, middle-class population teenaged mothers are more likely to have adverse pregnancy outcomes (5). Asthma is also becoming more common, with an incidence of at least 6.6% in 15-16 year old girls (6,7). Poverty and living in the inner city are associated with increased morbidity and mortality from asthma (8-11). Adolescents with asthma who become pregnant provide an added challenge to the physician who must consider the impact of the pregnancy on the asthma and vice versa. The physician must understand the effects of both the asthma medication and/or poorly controlled disease on the fetus. The physician must also be able to convey this information to the adolescent in a developmentally appropriate manner to enable the patient to make informed health care decisions (12).