Pregnancy and High Blood Pressure

What Is High Blood Pressure?

Women who have hypertension before pregnancy will continue to have this condition during pregnancy. When a woman has pre-existing hypertension or develops hypertension before the 20th week of pregnancy, this is called chronic hypertension.

In fact, nearly one in four women with chronic hypertension will develop preeclampsia during pregnancy, usually at mid-term. In such cases, the outlook for both mother and child is worse than it is for women who develop high blood pressure during their pregnancy. Pregnant women with chronic hypertension are at higher risk for premature birth, restricted growth or death of the fetus, congestive heart failure and renal failure.

Hypertensive disorders are the number two cause of maternal deaths in the United States. That's why it's important to pay attention to your blood pressure before it turns into the serious condition called preeclampsia.