Re: Asthma during labour

[Carole Gilmour]

I haven't seen anyone in labour with asthma but do know of one woman who had quite severe asthma throughout her pregnancy as happened with all her pregnancies.  She was induced at 37 weeks as it was getting difficult to control but she was fine in labour.  However if your client requires induction of labour then prostin gel should be used cautiously as it can be associated with asthma attacks.  Having said that I have seen it used in many woman who are susceptible to asthma attacks and not seen any adverse effects (asthma wise)   Advise your client to carry her medications with her and she should be fine.   Carole     ----- Original Message ----- From: Karen Arthur To: Ozmidwifery (E-mail) Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 7:11 AM Subject: Asthma during labour Hi!   Has anyone had experience with a woman getting asthma during labour?  My client gets a severe attack usually about once a year and, although these have not been as prevalent as she has gotten older, she has fears of it occurring in birth.   I assume hospitals have a nebuliser on standby for these cases.  Is there a usual way to handle it during birth?   Is there anything she can do to lessen the chances of it happening?  She no longer smokes and is not in a smokey environment and she also intends on going to aqua classes and possibly yoga.    Any information would be appreciated   Thank you in advance   Karen