International Journal of Pharma Research & Review, August 2015; 4(8):45-50 ISSN: 2278-6074 Shruti Agnihotri et.al, IJPRR 2015; 4(8) 45 Review Article Role of Yoga in Pregnancy with Asthma *Shruti Agnihotri 1 , Surya Kant 1 , Renu Singh 2 , S. K. Mishra 3 , Santosh Kumar 1 , Ajay Verma 1 1. Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George’s Medical University, U.P., Lucknow, India. 2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, King George’s Medical University, U.P., Lucknow, India. 3. Naturopath, Institute of Naturopathic and Yogic Sciences, Lucknow University, Lucknow, India. ABSTRACT Asthma is a heterogeneous disease, usually characterized by chronic airway inflammation. It is defined by the history of respiratory symptoms such as wheeze, shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough that vary over time and in intensity, together with variable expiratory airflow limitation. Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide with an estimated 300 million affected individuals. It is very common during pregnancy, it affects about 3-14% of the pregnancies. Pregnancy is a unique state of physiologic stress which demands physical, mental, and social adaptation. Researches in this field are very limited; therefore this review article will be helpful in updating the knowledge about disease and drugs that can help in satisfying the attending people, with an assurance that prenatal prognosis is not less than better as compared to pregnant women without asthma. Frequent monitoring of both mother and fetus to ensure symptom free pregnancy and a healthy baby is necessary. Yoga is one of the complementary medicines which are helpful in relaxing the muscles, releasing anxiety, improving blood circulation, respiration etc. Yoga uses a holistic approach to stress reduction and has been used to promote positive health for centuries. A regular practice of yogasanas, pranayama and meditation provide the relaxation and sound sleep in the pregnancy. It works as healing therapy to the mother and child too. Keywords: Complementary, heterogeneous, holistic, meditation, pranayama, pregnancy Received 20 June 2015 Received in revised form 12 July 2015 Accepted 24 July 2015 *Address for correspondence: Shruti Agnihotri, Research Associate, ICMR Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George’s Medical University, U.P., Lucknow, India. E-mail: saishruti.agnihotri@gmail.com _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Asthma is a chronic airways disease characterized by reversible airway obstruction, allergic inflammation and airway hyper- responsiveness [1]. The incidence of asthma continues to rise worldwide, doubling over the last 10 years [2- 3]. Asthma is the most common condition affecting the lungs during pregnancy. Asthma affects between 3- 14 % of the pregnancies [4-7]. Many women worry about how the changes of pregnancy will affect their asthma and if asthma treatments will harm the baby. With appropriate asthma therapy, most women can breathe easily, have a normal pregnancy, and deliver a healthy baby. Overall, the risk of poorly controlled asthma is much greater than the risk of taking medications to control asthma [8]. Asthma therapy during pregnancy is most successful when a woman receives regular medical care and follows her treatment plan closely. The severity of asthma during pregnancy varies from one woman to another. Unfortunately, it is difficult to predict the course that asthma will follow in a woman's first pregnancy. During pregnancy, asthma worsens in about one- third of women, improves in one-third, and remains stable in one-third [9]. Asthmatic patients becoming pregnant may require medical intervention in more than 50% cases of severe asthma. Incidence of asthma in pregnant women is 3.7 to 8.4% before two decades [10-13]. The impact of pregnancy on asthma and vice versa can be observed as exacerbation or reduction or no change in symptoms in equally divided