Shortness of Breath & Pregnancy: What to Expect (and What If You Have Existing Lung Conditions?)

Question
I am not pregnant; but I would like to become pregnant.  However, I am very afraid of being short of breath during pregnancy.  I have read about this as something many women experience.  I also have a condition where I have scar tissue in my pleural space due to a lung infection many years ago.  I cannot take a full, deep breath normally because of that scar tissue; I am very worried that if I become pregnant that I will have shortness of breath problems, especially because of the scar tissue.  I have normal pulmonary function tests, however.

Anyhow, I'm wondering if you can tell me more about shortness of breath in pregnancy.  Is there any way to know if a woman might be predisposed to this?

Answer
Kim,
There is not a way to tell if you are predisposed to this. Not all women experience shortness of breath (SOB). I don't think there is a very high percentage of women who do. As a baby grows, they tend to push up more on your diaphragm, which can make it more difficult to take a deep breath, but not where you wold be SOB. I would tihnk shorter women (< 5'2) have this problem more than someone who is average to tall. Hope this helps.