Asthma and Women

From the ages of 20 to 50, women outnumber men 3 to 1 in asthma-related hospital admissions. There is some evidence that asthma may be related to hormonal changes in combination with an allergic setting. The severity of asthma may change for women during pregnancy. In general, symptoms in pregnant women with asthma seem to improve in one-third of cases, stay the same in one-third, and worsen in one-third of cases.

Most women who have asthma are able to have safe and normal pregnancies as long as their asthma is effectively under control. It is extremely important for women to control their asthma while pregnant because asthma causes a decrease in the oxygen in the blood and can affect the amount of oxygen the fetus receives.