In the past, scientists suggested that the birth control pill might be to blame for rising rates of asthma in children, reports Medical News Today.
"Given that progesterone is a key hormone in pregnancy, the use of progestin-containing OCPs [oral contraceptive pills] before pregnancy could influence fetal respiratory and immune development," explained study first author Dr Dana Hancock at the U.S. National Institute of Health.
Using the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study, Hancock and her colleagues researched mothers who used birth control pills before pregnancy, and then looked at lower respiratory tract infections in more than 20,000 children whose health was tracked up to 36 months of age.
They found no link between use of birth control pills prior to pregnancy and lower respiratory tract infections, wheezing or asthma in children.
"We found that use of the combined pill, taken by most women who use OCPs, was not associated with adverse respiratory outcomes in the offspring. This should provide reassurance to the vast majority of women using OCPs during their childbearing years," said Dr Stephanie London, senior author of the study at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.