Dyspnoea of pregnancy
Many women with an otherwise normal pregnancy may complain of shortness of breath. Dyspnoea may develop in the first or second trimester, and by the third trimester 70% of women complain of some difficulty in breathing (6).
The mechanism is not entirely clear and does not seem to correlate purely with uterine size. It appears to be more related to the physiological increase in minute ventilation. This hyperventilation produces an increased respiratory effort and increased motor cortical stimulation of the respiratory centre. The dyspnoea reflects a normal awareness of increased ventilation in some women (7).The diagnosis of this benign dyspnoea of pregnancy is made in the presence of isolated dyspnoea not usually affecting daily activities, with physiological measurements within the accepted range for pregnancy, the absence of associated symptoms, and the exclusion of other pathologies. Sudden, episodic dyspnoea is more likely to be associated with a pathological condition. Increased exercise-induced dyspnoea may also occur in pregnancy.
More medical literature on Medic.Studio
More on the topic Dyspnoea of pregnancy:
-
Infectious diseases -
Internal diseases -
Obstetrics and Gynaecology -
Pediatrics -
Veterinary medicine -
-
Conflictology -
Ecology -
Economy -
Finance -
History -
Law -
Medicine -
Philosophy -
Religious studies -