A recent study showed treating a woman's elevated blood pressure during pregnancy is safer for both the mother and baby than letting it remain high.
The 15-country study found the use of blood pressure-lowering medications during pregnancy could help reduce the risk of stroke and other major events in pregnant women, the Child and Family Research Institute reported. Based on these findings the researchers recommend normalizing blood pressure in pregnant women.
"Before this study, I was a 'less tight' controller," said researcher Laura Magee. "I was hoping that this approach would be better for the baby, without increasing risks for the mother. However, I was wrong. 'Less tight' control, which means allowing blood pressure to be mildly to moderately elevated in pregnancy, is not better for the baby. It's actually harmful to the mother, who will more often experience levels of blood pressure that increase the risk of stroke. As a responsible maternity care provider, I can no longer justify a 'less tight' approach to blood pressure control."
The study looked at 987 women and their newborns at 94 sites across the globe to test the long-lived theory that high blood pressure during pregnancy could lead to below-average growth in the womb and reduced health after birth. The researchers found elevated blood pressure during pregnancy did not result in poorer outcomes for babies either before or after birth, but did increase the risk of stroke or death in mothers during childbirth.
"For almost 50 years, there has been major controversy over whether it is safe or dangerous to use blood pressure lowering medications during pregnancy. Following this well conducted CHIPS study, which is one of a very small number of landmark studies in this field, we now have an answer: A lower level of blood pressure lessens the risk of stroke for hypertensive pregnant women without causing any new risk for baby. This will have a direct impact on the health of pregnant women worldwide," said Mark Brown, President of the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy and Professor, University of New South Wales.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
