Slow growth in utero may cause asthma

So you have asthma. Perhaps the cause is that you were a slow growing fetus when you were inside your mommy. A new study shows this might be the case, as you can read here.

These test results are actually quite significant, and show that those who grew quickly early on in pregnancy and then grew slow during the later stages when the lungs were developing were 27% more likely to develop asthma.

To me, 27% is a significant number. Still, this is scant compared to the evidence that 80% of those born by c-section are likely to develop asthma, as I wrote about here.

The theory here is that lungs that develop more slowly may be narrower and more prone to be susceptible to irritants that might result in airway hypersensitivity and therefore narrowed airways (or asthma).

Therefore, these infants are more likely to have wheezes, be more susceptible to common colds, and this may be as a result of the narrowed air passages (bronchioles).

While there may be an amalgamate of reasons why people develop asthma, this is more evidence of why it is sooooooooooo important for moms to take good care of themselves when they are pregnant. They should not smoke, they should not take medicine without talking with their doctors, they should limit caffeine, they should not hang around people who smoke, etc.

Moms: Beware! What you do during pregnancy can cause serious health consequences for your child that he or she will have to deal with his or her entire life. Heed this warning!!!!