Washington, Oct 6 : Women who shun asthma medications during pregnancy face increased risk of transmitting the condition to their offspring, reveals a new study.

The research team from the Universite de Montreal, the Hopital du Sacre-Cœur de Montreal and Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre has revealed that 32.6 percent of children born to mothers who neglected to treat their asthma during pregnancy developed the respiratory illnessin later life.

"Uncontrolled maternal asthma during pregnancy could trigger a transient yet important reaction in the fetus that affects lung development and could subsequently increase the likelihood of a baby developing asthma in later childhood," said lead author Dr. Lucie Blais, a professor at the Universite de Montreal''s Faculty of Pharmacy and researcher at the Hopital du Sacre-Cœur de Montreal.

"We found that failing to control maternal asthma during pregnancy clearly has an impact on asthma in offspring – a consequence that is independent of other contributing factors.

"It is of great importance for physicians to adequately treat asthmatic mothers during pregnancy, not only for the favourable outcome of pregnancy but also for the benefit of the child," she added.

The study appears in the European Respiratory Journal. (ANI)