Highlights

As a result of the support provided by the mothers and babies who participated in our study, we have been able to make some valuable discoveries

Asthma in Pregnancy

In pregnant mums with asthma we have found that:

There is no difference in birth outcomes between FENO (fractional exhaled nitric oxide) guided asthma management and usual care in pregnancy.
Asthma exacerbations during pregnancy may be predicted by current and past asthma control and severity.
Spirometry may be used in clinical assessment and education during pregnancy.

In babies born to mums with asthma we have found that

Baby boys have lower lung function at 6 weeks of age.
Inflammation in their lungs as early as six weeks of age can predict whether they'll have a wheeze related illness later in their infancy.
Air pollution exposure can change the types of immune cells present in the umbilical cord blood.
Higher nitric oxide at 6 weeks of age is associated with less bronchiolitis and wheeze in the first 12 months of age.
Smoking during pregnancy can influence epigenetic modifications in early development, likely linking them to altered gene function and birth outcomes such as decreased birth weight.

In babies born to asthmatic mums we have found that:

The duration of breastfeeding (whether exclusive or not) may be an important factor in reducing the incidence and severity of wheeze in these high risk infants

In babies born to mums with asthma we have found that:

Preterm babies differed from full-term babies in their sensory processing and interactions with parents.
There may be a developmental profile that indicates an increased chance of autism.

In mums with asthma we have found that:

Mental illness was often reported during the prenatal and postnatal period and that their perception of asthma control may be more related to this than objective asthma measures such as spirometry
Parenting stress was no different between mums with and without asthma.