Anxiety, stress and depression during a woman's pregnancy may lead to a higher risk of asthma for her child

According to the July 2011 issue of American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), anxiety, stress and depression during a woman’s pregnancy may lead to a higher risk of asthma for a woman’s child. The population study at Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health focused exclusively on inner city African-American and Latino mothers before, during pregnancy and after birth.

So while this study may simply confirm what we already know, it is frustrating we still don’t know what to do next. In other words if there is a higher likelihood from a genetic standpoint that minority women and/or their children may develop asthma; a higher likelihood that due to their socio-economic status, minority background and/or single mother status their children will develop asthma, it’s clear there isn’t going to be any easy fix for this issue. Additionally, due to socio-economic constraints many women in these populations are less likely to be able to pursue a comprehensive avenue of care for themselves and their children, so that complicates the issue even more.

While most know already that minority populations have higher incidence rates of asthma, including low-income, inner city minority individuals, it is still not clear exactly how medical health professionals can work with pregnant women to prevent these higher rates of pediatric asthma since this research seems to suggest the future child’s asthma might be pre-determined during a woman’s pregnancy, “during the prenatal period.”

Other research about why people develop asthma seems to indicate it is a combination between environment, lifestyle choices and genetics. This research may suggest the pregnancy environment may play a larger role in pediatric asthma than we previously thought. While the study doesn’t specify this, it is likely the majority of these women were not smokers or living with smokers, but it does not explicitly say this so its important not to assume.

Similar studies have already found a correlation that stress factors during pregnancy aren’t good for any woman regardless of income level, marital status, or cultural or ethnic background, but it seems that this study just shows medical health professionals have their work cut out for them in the years and decades going forward.

The study goes on to note:

“The symptoms of pediatric asthma can range from a nagging cough that lingers for days or weeks to sudden and scary breathing emergencies,” said Dr. Rachel Miller, MD, study senior author and allergist.

The study points out that common asthma symptoms include:

• Coughing, especially at night
• Wheezing or whistling sound, especially when breathing out
• Trouble breathing or fast breathing that causes the skin around the ribs or neck to pull in tightly
• Frequent colds that settle in the chest
If your child’s symptoms keep coming back, it might be asthma. If you think your child may have asthma, see an allergist. To learn more about asthma and allergies, and find an allergist near you visit www.AllergyAndAsthmaRelief.org