Respiratory diseases in pregnancy

Respiratory diseases, particularly asthma, are common in women of childbearing age. Respiratory symptoms, particularly breathlessness, are also common in pregnancy. This chapter discusses the normal physiological changes that occur in the respiratory system during gestation and cover the common and less common respiratory diseases that predate pregnancy: asthma, sarcoidosis, cystic fibrosis, restrictive and interstitial lung disease, pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. lymphangioleiomyomatosis, and sleep-disordered breathing. It also covers intercurrent problems such as bacterial and viral pneumonia, as well as conditions that may arise due to complications of the pregnancy itself: adult respiratory distress syndrome, amniotic fluid embolism, gastric acid aspiration, transfusion-related acute lung injury, and pneumothorax.