Nutrition in Pregnancy Study

We have found that women with asthma have low levels of certain nutrients in their blood during pregnancy. The level of nutrients in the mother’s blood has been linked to the baby’s lung health. We would like to study this observation further to allow us to develop nutritional advice for pregnant women with asthma

Who is the study for?

This study is open to women between 12 and 22 weeks of pregnancy who have been diagnosed with or have symptoms of asthma, use regular asthma medication and are over 18 years of age.

What appointments will I need to attend?

You will have 2 visits during pregnancy and will be invited back for 2 visits in the first year. You may also have the option to have your infant followed up in the Paediatric Respiratory and Developmental studies.

What's involved in the study?

During your pregnancy we will:

Collect a blood sample at your first visit and towards the end of your pregnancy .
Ask about the medicine you take for asthma and how often you get sick.
Measure your lung capacity and the inflammation in your airways. We will use standard breathing tests (spirometry, FENO) which are not harmful to you or your baby.
Collect a urine sample to measure oxidative stress (first visit only).
Request that you bring in a stool sample (optional).
Assess your asthma and provide education about how to self-manage your asthma. After this, your asthma will be managed as usual by your GP or respiratory specialist.
Ask some brief questions about your sun exposure and visually assess your skin type against a scale
If you are a smoker, we will request that you complete a short survey about whether you are interested in quitting and what kind of help you would prefer if trying to quit. This should take less than 5 minutes to complete.

After your baby is born we will:

Collect a sample of cord blood from the placenta at birth. You will then be asked to attend the following visits:

4-6 weeks (20 minute visit)

Ask about breastfeeding/formula use and if you could provide a small breastmilk sample. We will measure certain nutrients in your breastmilk.
6 months (30 minute visit)

Repeat the previous visit and also ask if we can take a small blood sample from your infant using the finger-prick method or by the venous method (collected by a paediatric phlebotomist at the John Hunter Hospital).
Measure certain nutrients in the blood samples from you and your baby, and examine their relationship with your baby’s lung health.
Ask some brief questions about your sun exposure and will visually assess your skin type against a scale. We will also do this for your baby.

We may contact you to arrange additional follow-up of your child around the ages of 2 years, 3 years, 4 years and 6 years.

Medical Records

We would like to

Access your medical records from John Hunter Hospital and/or details of the birth from the hospital’s Obstetric Database. The information we obtain about you and your baby is routinely collected at antenatal visits and during the birth. This may include your early pregnancy blood test results in your medical records that may have measured nutritional markers.
Access your child’s medical records to obtain information about hospitalisations during the first year of life.

Questionnaires

We may ask you to complete the following questionnaires:

A 15 minute dietary questionnaire towards the end of your pregnancy, and again 6 months after your baby is born.
A 20 minute paediatric respiratory questionnaire when your child is 6 and 12 months of age. This will ask about your child’s health, such as symptoms of wheeze.