Limitations
One of the major limitations of our study is that the sample group is small and it is a single-center study. In addition, inflammatory markers in maternal blood and cord blood were not studied. The results were not confirmed by echocardiography at postnatal follow-up of the newborns, which is another limitation of our study. There are insufficient data in the literature on the fetal cardiac effects of inhaled corticosteroid use. No subgroup analysis was performed according to the severity of maternal asthma and the type of medical treatment.ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first study to examine fetal cardiac function in pregnant women with asthma. We found that maternal asthma affects fetal diastolic and early systolic cardiac functions, but global fetal cardiac functions do not change. Diastolic heart functions may be affected by the duration of maternal asthma. We believe that fetal echocardiographic assessment plays an important role in maternal systemic and inflammatory diseases. Further studies are needed to compare fetal cardiac function parameters in relation to disease severity and type of medical treatment with additional patient groups.