Assessment of knowledge and education relating to asthma during pregnancy among women of childbearing age

Abstract

BackgroundMisconceptions about medications’ safety can lead pregnant women with asthma to stop their medications, resulting in asthma-related neonatal morbidity and mortality. Our aim was to assess the level of pregnancy-related asthma knowledge and education about asthma medications’ safety, among women of childbearing age with a history of bronchial asthma.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of convenience sample of outpatient clinic attendees of Pulmonary, Family Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology among women of childbearing age with history of asthma at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants (n = 171) completed a questionnaire to determine levels of education and knowledge, as well as attitudes and practice relating to asthma treatment.ResultsAmong participants, 77.1% were pregnant at the time of the survey, 77.8% had used asthma medications during current or previous pregnancy, 70.8% of all respondents who ever been pregnant believed in the safety of asthma medications during pregnancy, 49.1% had received education about asthma, and 46.8% had been educated about the safety of asthma medications during pregnancy. Responses indicated that 46.8% had stopped (or expressed the desire to stop) asthma medications during pregnancy, and 48% believed asthma medications would harm them and their babies more than asthma itself, but 92.4% expressed that they would be willing to use asthma medications during pregnancy if their safety was confirmed by a physician. Education level and employment status were both associated with an increased likelihood of having received asthma education (p values <0.001 and <0.001 respectively), and with awareness of the safety of the medications during pregnancy (p values <0.001 and <0.003 respectively).ConclusionFurther efforts is to be taken to develop a program where female asthmatic patients are taught about asthma and its medications’ safety during pregnancy.

Inhaled corticosteroid use during pregnancy among women with asthma: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Self‐reported changes to asthma treatment were documented in five studies of pregnant women with asthma, using (online) questionnaires or interviews . In a survey of 102 pregnant women with asthma in Australian, 37% reported controller use prior to pregnancy, yet only 18% reported use during pregnancy .…”

“…An additional study reported 33% had ceased or reduced asthma medication, based on face‐to‐face interviews (N = 58) . In a questionnaire‐based study of 171 women with asthma, 47% reported to have ceased, or wanted to cease, their asthma medication during pregnancy. Moreover, a study of 123 pregnant women with asthma presenting to an emergency department reported that 16% had ceased ICS medication prior to the event …”

“…40 This study has several limitations. Due to the limited number of studies from, Asia, 16,41 the Middle East 23,28,32 and South America 42 , we were not able to provide a stable pooled prevalence for these continents. No studies from Africa were included in this systematic review.…”

“…Self-reported changes to asthma treatment were documented in five studies of pregnant women with asthma, using (online) questionnaires or interviews. 3,10,[22][23][24] In a survey of 102 pregnant women with asthma in Australian, 37% reported controller use prior to pregnancy, yet only 18% reported use during pregnancy. 3 Furthermore, 39% of pregnant women with asthma stated that they 'often' or 'always' make changes to their recommended ICS treatment to suit their lifestyle, with an additional 31% selecting 'sometimes'.…”

Use of Herbal Medicine by Pregnant Women: What Physicians Need to Know

“…Poor asthma control during pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal outcomes (e.g., hypertension, gestational diabetes, preterm delivery, maternal mortality) and neonatal outcomes (e.g., congenital malformation, hospitalization, and death) (Murphy and Schatz, 2014;Baghlaf et al, 2017;McLaughlin et al, 2018). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommendations prioritize asthma control over possible pharmaceutic side effects related to pregnancy (National Heart Lung et al, 2005), as it has been shown that effective perinatal control of asthma has been associated with improved outcomes for both mother and infant (Ibrahim et al, 2018;Murphy and Schatz, 2014;Al Ghobain et al, 2018;McLaughlin et al, 2018).…”