Asthma may Prolong Conception Time for Some Women

Health officials stress the importance of heavily monitoring a future mother's health during pregnancy. New health problems can occur as a particular amount of stress is pushed on the body. For instance, low blood count (anemia), urinary tract infections, high blood pressure (hypertension), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) or symptoms of depression can all be experienced throughout stages, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

However, for some women with pre-existing health conditions, conceiving may be even more difficult. They may be unable to get pregnant at first or choose to wait based on their doctor's advice.

A recent study looks at how asthma, in particular, affects fertility. Researchers from Bispebjerg University Hospital located in Denmark reported that asthmatic women tend to wait longer before getting pregnant but fortunately, usually end up with the same average number of children when compared to non-asthmatic women.

"Our results shed light on the complex interactions between fertility and asthma. Although we observed women with asthma experiencing longer waiting times to pregnancy, our findings suggest that if women take their medications and control their asthma, they can reduce this delay," lead study author Dr. Juul Gade said, via a statement from WebMD.

Researchers examined survey answers from a cohort that involved over 15,000 Danish women. Participants of the study were twins aged 41 and younger. Survey questions included information regarding fertility, such as how long they had been pregnant and symptoms of asthma during the time. Women from the study were separated into two main groups--asthmatic and non-asthmatic. The asthmatic group was then separated into treated or untreated, with a total of 955 women with a history of asthma.

Findings showed that 21.6 percent of the non-asthmatic women had a prolonged time of getting pregnant while 27 percent of asthmatic women had the same issue. When it came to untreated asthma individuals, the researchers found that their risk of a delay in conception was increased by 30.5 percent. This percent, however, fell by 23.8 percent for asthmatic women who were treated. Yet for women over 30, 32.3 percent had an increased waiting time, but women under 20 only had a 24.9 percent prolonged waiting time.

Researchers note that despite the delay, most women still had the average number of children as other women who did not have asthma.

More information regarding the study can be found via the European Respiratory Journal.