Specific Management Recommendations to Pregnant Patients With Asthma 1. Cessation of smoking. Not only can smoking harm the fetus, but it may additionally be an asthma trigger in asthmatic patients. Routine skin testing to identify allergens should be deferred in pregnant patients due to the potential risk of systemic reactions. Immunotherapy may be safely continued in pregnant women already receiving immunotherapy.
Drug therapy is always a concern in pregnant patients.
For ethical reasons, there are few randomized studies of drugs in pregnant women. Unfortunately, no allergy or asthma medications fall into this category. Several asthma medications fall into this category, including ipratropium, salmeterol, terbutaline, cromolyn sodium, nedocromil, zilueton, and zafirlukast. Adverse effects have been detected in animal studies, but not yet in human studies. These drugs should not be used in pregnant patients.