Chronic high blood pressure and pregnancy

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Chronic high blood pressure and pregnancy

Women with chronic high blood pressure require special medical care before, during, and after their pregnancies.

• Some blood pressure medications are not recommended for use during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Talk to your health professional if you take blood pressure medicines and are pregnant or planning a pregnancy.
• High blood pressure (140/90 mm Hg or higher) during a pregnancy increases the risks of:
  • Preeclampsia. Nearly 1 in 4 pregnant women with chronic high blood pressure will develop preeclampsia.¹
  • Fetal growth problems (intrauterine growth restriction, or IUGR).
  • Placenta abruptio.

Many women with chronic high blood pressure need little or no medicine during pregnancy. Blood pressure usually falls during early pregnancy, so medicine is often not needed unless blood pressure increases to higher levels. Some women with blood pressure as high as 179/109 may not require medicine for their high blood pressure during pregnancy.¹

Undiagnosed chronic high blood pressure and pregnancy

High blood pressure is a disorder with few or no symptoms. When planning a pregnancy, see your health professional for a review of pregnancy risks, such as high blood pressure.

Women with elevated blood pressure during pregnancy receive frequent blood pressure readings, blood tests, and urine screens for signs of preeclampsia.

Typically, if a woman's blood pressure remains high for more than 12 weeks after delivery, she is likely to have ongoing (chronic) high blood pressure.¹

References

Citations

1. National High Blood Pressure Education Working Group (2000). Report on High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy (NIH Publication No. 00–3029). Washington, DC: National Institutes of Health.

Credits

Last updated:	November 22, 2006
Author:	Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH
Reviewed By:	Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH - Family Medicine, William Gilbert, MD - Perinatology
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman