PEFR in pregnancy: a longitudinal study.

Peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR) were measured in 60 pregnant women aged 20-28 years (average 24 yrs) height between 130-160 cm (average 154.5 cm), each month beginning from 3rd month of gestation and also 8-10 weeks postpartum using, Wright's Peak Flow Meter. The PEFR declined from 329.12 +/- 4.40 lpm in 3rd month to 286.22 +/- 3.81 lpm in 9th month of gestation and increased to 347.86 +/- 2.93 lpm in postpartal period. A similar, declining trend is also observed in other Indian studies. However, the values are lower than those observed in Europeans. Also no change in PEFR during pregnancy was observed in an European study. The PEFR in our study regressed at a rate of 6.68 lpm/month of gestation and 5.49 lpm/kg increase in weight throughout pregnancy. The correlation with forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV1) is non-significant throughout pregnancy. The anaemic pregnant women showed lower PEFR when compared with PEFR of nonanaemic pregnant women, but showed a similar declining trend throughout pregnancy.