Abstract :
In pregnancy there is change in the physiological levels of hormones. It also brings about changes in other
systems like circulatory, respiratory and also leads anatomical modifications in pelvis. These changes are
essential for the mother to accommodate the foetus. It is essential to know the changes in pulmonary
functions that occur normally in pregnancy and to differentiate it from abnormal values. Progesterone a
hormone of pregnancy is known to cause certain degree of bronchodilatation. Hence forth this study was
conducted to assess FVC and PEFR and to correlate with Progesterone levels in pregnancy.
Materials and Methods: An observational and analytical study was conducted in 90 pregnant women
(Primigravidae). The controls were non-pregnant women. All were in the age group between 18 and 25
years. Their pulmonary function parameters FVC and PEFR was analyzed using computerised RMS 401-
Heliometer. Progesterone assay was done using CLIA. SPSS 21 version software was used for statistics.
Significance was given to p value less than 0.05.
Results: FVC and PEFR decreased significantly in pregnancy irrespective of trimester in comparison to
controls. FVC did not show significant variation in all trimesters of pregnancy. In the third trimester
of pregnancy PEFR showed significant decrease. Between the groups there was significant increase (p
< 0>
progesterone in first trimester of pregnancy. There was positive and significant correlation of FVC and
Progesterone in third trimester of pregnancy. This study brings the knowledge about modifications in
respiratory functional parameters and helps to identify the norms on predicted values in pregnancy.
Keyword :
Pregnancy, Forced Vital Capacity, Peak Expiratory Flow Rate, Progesterone.