Perinatal outcomes in pregnancy with asthma.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between asthmatic pregnancies and selected maternal and neonatal outcomes in a representative cohort.


METHODS
A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital during the year 2004. A random selection was made of 65 asthmatic and 63 non-asthmatic singleton births. The neonatal outcomes studied were birth weight, premature birth and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes. The maternal outcomes studied were number of hospital admissions, and number of documented UTI during the studied pregnancy and past history of abortions and stillbirths.


RESULTS
The mean age of asthmatics and nonasthmatics were 28.0 +/- 4.9 years and 27.7 +/- 3.6 years respectively. The average parity among asthmatic women was 2.97 while that in controls was 2.57 (p < 0.137). Neonates born to asthmatic mothers had shorter mean gestational age with increased risk of premature birth and lower Apgar scores. Asthmatic mothers had a greater risk of abortions and low birth weight babies. They also had higher rates of UTIs and hospital admissions.


CONCLUSIONS
Asthmatic pregnancies are more likely to result in abortion, premature delivery and low birth weight babies. The asthmatic pregnancies were also linked with higher rates of maternal UTI. Thcrefore a more vigilant monitoring is required in asthmatic pregnancies.
The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
Rashid Zaheer
RZ
Syed
Ali Bin Sarwar
AB
Zubairi
Muhammad Ahsan
MA
Zafar
Rahat
R
Qureshi
D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018743:Perinatal Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors