Experts are advising that pregnant women be screened for high blood pressure.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force included the recommendation in its new draft recommendation statement, released this month.
This statement claims that hypertensive disorders during pregnancy (HDPs) are some of the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. These disorders include gestational hypertension, preeclampsia/eclampsia, and chronic hypertension.
The CDC reports that high blood pressure occurs for one in every 12 to 17 pregnancies in women aged 20 to 44, and produces a number of adverse complications for both the woman and the child. For the mother, these complications include stroke, placental abruption, and medicine-induced labor for the mother. For the baby, these complications include early birth due to low nutrients and oxygen and low birth weight.
Risk factors associated with high blood pressure include age, race, lack of exercise, sodium levels, stress, diabetes, as well as tobacco use, and being overweight. Additionally, according to a report in Pediatric Research, “Obesity is associated with increased risk of almost all pregnancy complications.”
HDPs in hospital deliveries increased from 13.3% to 15.9% between 2017 and 2019, while pregnancy-associated hypertension increased from 10.8% to 13.0% in the same years, according to a report on the National Library of Medicine website.
HDPs can also be fatal, with the CDC reporting that more than 30% of pregnant mothers who died in labor between 2017 and 2019 had a hypertensive disorder.
Doctors have begun advocating women explore screening to mitigate risks associated with hypertension.
“Early access to prenatal care and adequate prenatal visit improves health outcomes,” said Dr. Tosin Goje, director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Infant and Maternal Health, according to USA Today.
“During prenatal care in the first trimester, you have proper dating of the pregnancy (and) you can pinpoint risk factors that may influence or impact pregnancy outcome,” she continued.
These new recommendations will remain available for public comment until March 6.
