Overview
Pharmacological treatment, primarily inhaled medication, is the cornerstone of asthma management, including for pregnant women. All available guidelines consistently recommend that asthma treatment should be similar for pregnant and non-pregnant women. The safety of these medications for the pregnant woman and the unborn fetus, and their importance and effectiveness should be reinforced whenever possible. However, when changing or adding new pharmacological treatment in relation to pregnancy, molecules with well-known safety profiles should be considered first.
- Common asthma medication action and safety profiles are listed in the table below (ERS/TSANZ Task Force Statement safety classifications)
- For the Australian categorisation system for prescribing medicines in pregnancy, please visit the TGA Prescribing medicines in Pregnancy Database which includes definitions of Australian categories and a medicines Database search.
- In addition, in Australia services such as MotherSafe provide detailed guidance on medication safety in pregnancy and are available to both patients and clinicians alike. Visit MotherSafe contact details page here.
Common asthma medication action and safety profiles: Pre-conception, all trimesters, labour and breastfeeding
Adapted from Middleton et al. 2020 ERS/TSANZ Task Force Statement on the management of reproduction and pregnancy in women with airways diseases.