Decreasing inhaled corticosteroids in pregnancy increases the risk for asthma exacerbations: time for new approaches to solve a decades-old problem

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Extract Asthma is the most common chronic disease to impact pregnant women, with a prevalence of approximately 9% in the UK [1]. Asthma is important to manage closely in pregnancy because it has been associated with poor maternal, neonatal and pregnancy outcomes, and children whose mothers have asthma are at highest risk of having asthma themselves, especially when the mother's asthma is not well-controlled during pregnancy. Exacerbations of disease are relatively common and may even be brought on by pregnancy, although the mechanisms involved are unclear. Several risk factors for exacerbations are modifiable, providing potential for intervention and improved health outcomes for mother and baby (figure 1).