Small fetuses may have lasting risks of asthma, reduced lung function

LONDON (WISH) — New study results show prenatal factors in pregnant women could have life-long respiratory impacts on the child.

The study was done in the UK, led by Dr. Stephen Turner of the University of Aberdeen. The results show reduced fetal size as early as the first trimester has lasting respiratory impacts on that child all the way up to 15 years old and possibly longer.

A total of 2,000 mothers were recruited for this study between 1997 and 1999 and a routine ultrasound was used to determine the fetal size. Then the child’s asthma status and lung function were checked at age five, 10 and 15.

The research showed that larger fetuses had better lung function and a reduced likelihood of asthma. Persistent asthma was associated with fetuses falling below the 50th percentile in size.

According to the CDC, asthma claims more than 3,000 lives in the U.S. each year. The lead researcher said this shows just how important it is for women not to smoke or drink during pregnancy, as well as having a balanced diet and regularly exercising.

Although this research began almost 20 years ago, Dr. Turner said he is not done. He now wants to determine if fetuses who start off small and stay small have the worst outcomes, or if it’s those that start normal size early on and then become small who are in trouble. He would also like to replicate the study within other groups and cultures to better analyze the results.

If you are pregnant and concerned about these study results, another study from April 2016 showed children were up to five times less likely to have been diagnosed with asthma by the age of three if their mother ate oily fish while carrying them. Those researchers suggest two servings of salmon, sardines, trout or herring twice a week.