Is albuterol inhaler safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about albuterol inhaler during pregnancy?

1. Inhaled albuterol sends only a small amount of medication into your bloodstream, since it works directly in your lungs rather than traveling through your whole body like a pill does. 1
2. Pregnant people whose asthma stays well controlled have no higher rate of pregnancy complications than pregnant people without asthma at all. 2
3. Babies tend to grow better and have fewer complications when their mother's asthma is actively managed with medication instead of left untreated. 3
4. Standard asthma medications, inhalers included, are considered safe to keep using all the way through pregnancy and while breastfeeding. 4
5. Asthma flare-ups and poorly controlled symptoms during pregnancy raise the chance of preeclampsia, which is one more reason not to skip your rescue inhaler. 5

Is albuterol inhaler safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Morning sickness can make it easy to forget doses, but your rescue inhaler is still worth using exactly as prescribed in the first trimester. Very little of an inhaled dose reaches your bloodstream, and studies so far haven't linked albuterol to a higher chance of birth defects.
• Second trimester. Your growing uterus and shifting hormones can make asthma symptoms better or worse in the second trimester, so it's worth tracking how often you're reaching for your inhaler. Let your healthcare provider know if you're using it more than a couple of times a week.
• Third trimester. Late pregnancy breathlessness from your baby pressing on your diaphragm can feel similar to asthma, so it helps to know your own symptom pattern. Bring your inhaler to the hospital for delivery, and ask your healthcare provider to add your asthma plan to your delivery chart.