Asthma Medication Use and Risk of Birth Defects: National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2011.

Background: Evidence regarding associations between maternal asthma medication use and birth defects is mixed.

Objective: Estimate associations between asthma medciation use and 52 birth defects using National Birth Defects Prevention Study data from 1997 to 2011.

Methods: We compared self-reported maternal asthma medication use for 28,481 birth defect cases and 10,894 nonmalformed controls.

Maternal asthma medication use and the risk of selected birth defects.

Objectives: Approximately 4% to 12% of pregnant women have asthma; few studies have examined the effects of maternal asthma medication use on birth defects. We examined whether maternal asthma medication use during early pregnancy increased the risk of selected birth defects.

Methods: National Birth Defects Prevention Study data for 2853 infants with 1 or more selected birth defects (diaphragmatic hernia, esophageal atresia, small intestinal atresia, anorectal atresia, neural tube defects, omphalocele, or limb deficiencies) and 6726 unaffected control infants delivered from October 1997 through December 2005 were analyzed.

Maternal bronchodilator use and the risk of orofacial clefts.

Background: Few epidemiological studies have explored the relationship between orofacial clefts and bronchodilators. We assessed whether mothers who used bronchodilators during early pregnancy were at an increased risk of delivering infants with orofacial clefts.

Methods: We used National Birth Defects Prevention Study case-control data from mothers of 2711 infants with orofacial clefts and 6482 mothers of live born infants without birth defects, delivered during 1997 through 2005.

Maternal asthma medication use and the risk of gastroschisis.

The objective of this study was to examine the association between maternal asthma medication use during the periconceptional period and the risk of gastroschisis. In this case-control study, the authors used data on deliveries enrolled in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (1997-2002) from eight collaborating centers. The cases included 381 infants with isolated gastroschisis, and the controls were 4,121 liveborn infants without malformations.