“We sometimes try to generalize it—they look healthy, and are doing well. But it can be an important sign,” Dr. Petkar said, adding that the medical community had “a lot of work to do to make sure that we take even mild blood pressure as a sign to pay attention to and to pay attention. The same way for all different people.” who come to us for antenatal care.
Blood pressure disorders have potentially serious long-term effects for mother and baby, and they are associated with premature birth and stillbirth, as well as a long-term risk of heart disease in the mother.
High blood pressure may restrict fetal growth because it impairs blood flow, and may result in medically induced premature birth, as delivery of the baby resolves the disease and prolongs the life and health of the mother. May be necessary to save.
Women who had pre-eclampsia at the time of delivery also have a higher risk of developing heart failure after childbirth, and black women have twice the risk of white women, according to new findings from Truveta Research. The research arm of Truveta, a for-profit collective of health systems that uses de-identified patient data for research.
Although the reasons for the disparity are not known, some may be due to unequal access to care and the failure of caregivers to seek care when women report unusual symptoms, said Dr. Charlotte Baker, Truveta’s director of epidemiology. Dr. Baker lost a friend to the condition just a few months after the friend gave birth.
“My friend had complained to her physicians several times, but they turned her away,” she said.
No one knows why the prevalence of hypertensive disorders has doubled over the past three decades, but women are having children at older ages than in the past. They are heavier than ever, as are all Americans, and a significant number already have high blood pressure before becoming pregnant.
Living conditions, known as social determinants of health, also play a role in maternal health, and recent studies have implicated housing instability and food insecurity in blood pressure disorders and other pregnancy complications. Inequality in access to health care services may also play a role.
Maternal mortality in the United States has been rising in recent decades, and is projected to rise to 1,178 deaths in 2021, compared to 861 deaths in 2020, according to provisional figures in a recent Government Accountability Office report.