Respiratory disease in pregnancy

Respiratory diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in pregnant women. Chronic lung diseases, such as asthma and cystic fibrosis, may present unique management problems in pregnancy, and other lung diseases, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, can target pregnant women just as they target non-pregnant women. Other disease such as pulmonary embolism may be made more likely owing to the pregnant state. In this review we will cover the important lung diseases that are likely to be encountered in pregnancy and highlight any modifications in conventional management which are necessary.