Abstract
Background
Asthma affects 12.7% of pregnant women in Australia. Key recommendations for asthma
management during pregnancy include: 4–6 weekly review of lung function, medications,
written asthma action plan, inhaler device technique, current asthma control and triggers;
smoking cessation and vaccination advice. It is unknown if these key recommendations
are provided to pregnant women with asthma in Australia.
Aim
To explore usual antenatal asthma management (usual care) in Australia and the inclusion
of key recommendations.
Method
Pregnant women with asthma were invited to complete an online survey distributed in
2 antenatal clinics and via social media platforms from July 2017-Jan 2019.
Results
The survey was completed by 142 pregnant women with asthma. 87(61%) were enrolled
in an asthma management clinical trial and were therefore not receiving ‘usual’ care.
Data presented is from 55(39%) women receiving usual care at survey completion. Of
these women, 36% did not have their asthma reviewed during their pregnancy, 31% had
a written asthma action plan, 11% had lung function assessed, 38% had an asthma medication
review and 35% had their inhaler technique reviewed. 65% were not questioned about
their asthma symptoms, 85% were not asked about asthma triggers, 96% were not given
information about vaccinations and 95% did not receive smoking cessation information.
Conclusions
Overall, the key recommendations for antenatal asthma management were not always provided
for this sample of pregnant women receiving usual care. Improved knowledge and implementation
of these key recommendations by health professionals may alter this situation and
improve maternal and infant outcomes.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 23, 2022
Accepted:
March 17,
2022
Received in revised form:
March 8,
2022
Received:
September 6,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
