Inhalers and autism

[Guluzar]

Hi
I was using inhalers classed as beta blockers during my pregnancy which said not to use during pregnancy and breast feeding but my doctor assured me that it was safe and they write it just to protect themselves. Now my son has autism and there are a few research papers suggesting a link, has anybody else used a beta blocker inhaler and has a child with autism? I am worried sick that it could have been avoided.

Actually I take that back, my cousins wife is severely asthmatic. She’s constantly admitted for treatment but she has 3 son’s and not one of them have any additional needs of any kind

This is not the post, I hope my son speaks but the genetics is not the only cause of autism, it is genetics and environment. In fact in america some big food companies are currently being sued for having mercury in their products and causing autism, i am not thinking of suing or anything but i want them stopped from being prescribed if there is a link.

I was only telling you to ensure you looked at the relevant information, and so that no one became alarmed, because (particular) beta blockers are used in pregnancy for high blood pressure, and it is very important that they don’t stop taking them.

James Blond thank so much.

@Guluzar autism is genetic. It's not something you did or didn't do

This is not the post, can you please ask your cpusin s wife what type of inhalers she was taking as I am so mich wishing that this is God given rather than neglect as I can deal with it much better mentally that way.

Fostair contains a steroid as well as the long-acting beta agonist; presumably, the doctor made a decision based on your personal health and circumstances that your asthma wouldn't be well-controlled enough with the steroid alone. It's really important that when you're pregnant, you can breathe freely, and you did the right thing taking treatment you needed. If you're not healthy during pregnancy, it's not good for your baby either.

The link that's been found is, at the moment, very uncertain, and only a modest increase. Scientists scrape through these enormous databases looking for things that are statistically linked to one another, but until a lot more research has been done, it's impossible to know why things are linked. For example, perhaps people who regularly eat pickled herring are more likely to burn in hot sun than the average human. That wouldn't necessarily mean that pickled herring makes you burn easily.

Using an inhaler to help you breath isn't neglect.

Quiddich I really want to believe that too but I have to eliminate the other researches first like the2016 Swedish one, if the science proves it otherwise I don't want the mistakes being repeated.

Using an inhaler to breath isn't neglect and an inhaler didn't cause your dc to be autistic

Frydae, fostair webpage says that there are safer options, I am not blaming them for giving me an inhaler, have they given me the wrong type of it is my question as the research suggests.

Clamping bambool, I wished he had tried to get me back on brown inhaler again rather than continuing fostair, i have never had an asthma attack in my life so I feel like he could have tried to take me off it when it says it should not be used in pregnancy.

I looked up Fostair here: www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/21006

The reason they don't recommend it in pregnancy is that when they gave it to pregnant animals at 200 times the blood level that it would be in humans, there were problems like cleft palate and slowed growth, and they state those are probably caused by the steroid part because it's known to cause that.

Additionally, when taken at the end of pregnancy, beta agonists can delay labour, apparently.

The recommendation is nothing to do with autism.

What do you use the inhaler for?

Clumping Bambool have you actually checked that? Can you please send me a link as I have been killing myself last few days thinking I have unwittingly caused my son s diffuculties.

I was trying to reassure you not have a go at you. Autism can't be avoided

Clpsmum thank you, I struggled with selfblame so much in the last few days, it is good to hear people reassuring me.

OP, the article on Spectrum News that I have seen says the study rules out a link between asthma medication in pregnancy and autism in children:

https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/asthma-parents-shows-slim-link-autism-children/amp/

Also, I had a look at the product information for Fostair. The wording about not using in pregnancy if a safer alternative exists is fairly standard for a lot of medicines and often has no bearing on the data that is available and doesn't take into account the risks of not treating a potentially severe condition. Also, it looks like the main reason the drug is sometimes avoided in later pregnancy is because it can act as a tocolytic- that is, it inhibits labour.

There really is no evidence that any asthma drugs cause harm in pregnancy and the risks of not treating asthma properly are high, including when a drug that is working well is switched to another that might not do the same. Please don't worry that your asthma meds caused your child's condition- they didn't

Clamping Bambool thank you soo much fo the information. Cheers.

@Guluzar my child has been diagnosed for over a decade and I can still wake up in a cold sweat and think is it because ...........
Truth is I will never know why and it doesn't matter why he is who he is and I wouldn't change him. Can take a long time to get to that place though. Feel free to message me if you want to vent/cry/laugh/moan to somebody who "gets it!"

Please don't blame yourself. There is nothing you could have done differently xxx

Ethel from number, thank you soooo much.

Clpsmum thank you I think I will sleep much better tonight x x x

This WebMD article isn't too scaremongering and explains that the link found was very small and it's uncertain what the reason behind it is. It's unlikely your child's autism is anything to do with anything you did or didn't do.

In any case,

1. Your asthma needed to be well-controlled during pregnancy, and that's a high-priority thing
2. You are incapable of divining the future, and made the best decision you could make with the information available to you at the time — nobody (including you) can fairly ask more of you than this
3. Fostair isn't recommended in pregnancy for precautionary reasons, rather than anything to do with autism, and doctors often give medications that aren't technically licensed in pregnancy

Clpsmum I will message you as I really need to talk to someone who has been there, thank you x x x