High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy: Understanding Gestational Hypertension

Understand what gestational hypertension is and how high blood pressure in pregnancy can affect the health of the pregnant woman.

During pregnancy, the woman undergoes several changes in the body, which indicates that it is preparing for the arrival of the baby. And even in this period, the pregnant woman may be prone to suffering from high blood pressure. If this occurs, it must be treated properly so as not to evolve into pre-eclampsia or eclampsia.

This type of pathology happens when the pressure in pregnancy is high, and the life of the mother and the developing baby may be at risk.

Even if the data statistically speaking is not that high, this is a problem that must be treated very seriously. High blood pressure during pregnancy can cause premature placental abruption, as well as impair the baby’s growth due to placental insufficiency.

In addition to increasing the chance of premature birth, and in more serious cases, the baby may suffocate inside the uterus because it does not have adequate oxygenation, and may die.

In the case of pregnant women, if the hypertension is more severe, it can lead to cerebral hemorrhage, liver rupture, convulsions, acute renal failure, and death.

Risk factors

In many cases the symptoms can be silent, as is the case with increased blood pressure, but there are some factors that may increase the risk of the pregnant woman developing pre-eclampsia:

• First paternity;
• First pregnancy;
• Pregnancy before age 20;
• Twin pregnancy (happens when the mother will have twins);
• Previous pregnancy with pre-eclampsia or eclampsia;
• High-risk pregnancy over 40 years old;
• Chronic arterial hypertension;
• Family history of pre-eclampsia;
• Type 2 diabetes;
• Kidney disease;
• Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome;
• Congenital thrombophilic disorders;
• Fetal hydrops;
• Sickle cell anemia;
• Hydatidiform mole.

The best way to prevent any complications is by having proper medical follow-up throughout the prenatal period. Only the obstetrician can investigate whether your blood pressure is altered and whether there may be a risk of having pre-eclampsia.

The different types of hypertension in pregnant women

High blood pressure in pregnancy

Pre-existing chronic hypertension

In this case, the pressure during pregnancy is usually above 140 x 90 mmHg since before pregnancy. Therefore, the pregnant woman was already hypertensive and this remains during pregnancy. High blood pressure in pregnancy before the 20th week is also considered pre-existing.

Pre eclampsia

It is characterized when hypertension appears after the 20th week of pregnancy, and is associated with the loss of proteins in the urine. If there are problems with the kidneys, liver and central nervous system, it can also happen. As well, it can be a consequence of the drop in platelet levels in the blood.

Pre eclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension

It appears when pre-eclampsia affects women who already suffered from hypertension before becoming pregnant.

Gestational hypertension

Understanding gestational hypertension: high blood pressure in pregnancy

This type of disease appears after the 20th week of pregnancy, without loss of protein in the urine or any other sign that indicates pre-eclampsia. In this case, even when the pregnant woman is at rest, the pressure during pregnancy is greater than 14 x 9. To confirm the diagnosis, it is necessary to measure the pressure on two different occasions, with intervals of 6 hours.

Always in prenatal consultations, the doctor measures blood pressure. If this is altered, it indicates deeper examinations to identify the reason.

Specialists indicate that the pressure in pregnancy should be maintained at normal levels until the end of the pregnancy. As well, after childbirth, the pressure should still be monitored for another 12 weeks. If the woman has high blood pressure during this period, she may have developed chronic hypertension, which will require medical follow-up.

Symptoms of high blood pressure during pregnancy

During the entire pregnancy, it is important that the woman maintain adequate prenatal care and perform the tests indicated by the doctor. When the pregnant woman has high blood pressure, the most common symptoms are: pain in the back of the neck or head, swelling in the arms and legs due to fluid retention, blurred vision and sensitivity to light. It may happen that the symptoms are very weak and go unnoticed.

Is blood pressure 13 x 8 during pregnancy normal?

Generally, the pressure tends to decrease in the first trimester, then it rises a little in the second, to normalize in the third trimester. However, it is considered pre-eclampsia when the pressure is greater than 140 x 90 mmHg. Also, if the woman’s normal pressure is 10 x 7, she can be considered hypertensive if the pressure reaches 13 x 8.5 for example.

Risks of high blood pressure in pregnancy

High blood pressure in pregnancy

Risks may appear if blood pressure during pregnancy is not controlled by medication or when the pregnant woman has symptoms of pre-eclampsia.

See also our post: Pregnancy and diabetes: understand the risks and how to prevent it. It will certainly be very useful and help you to clear doubts about the subject. And it doesn’t stop there, we have many other relevant topics to share.