Seeing “chronic hypertension” on your pregnancy chart can be alarming. After all, you want to spend these months thinking about your growing baby, not worrying about your blood pressure.
The good news is that you can manage high blood pressure during pregnancy. You’ll need closer monitoring and an individualized care plan, but with good blood pressure control, you and your baby are more likely to stay healthy.
And you’re certainly not alone. An NIH-supported study of nearly two million pregnancies found that chronic hypertension in pregnancy more than doubled in the United States between 2008 and 2021, increasing from 1.8% to 3.7%.
At Nile Women’s Health Care, we provide the additional attention and high-risk pregnancy care you need to navigate pregnancy with confidence.
Chronic hypertension means you had high blood pressure before becoming pregnant or developed it during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. That distinguishes it from gestational hypertension, which begins after 20 weeks in someone whose blood pressure was previously normal.
High blood pressure often causes no noticeable symptoms, so feeling fine doesn’t necessarily tell you what your numbers are doing. That makes regular prenatal appointments — and sometimes monitoring your blood pressure at home — especially important.
When your blood pressure remains too high, it can affect blood flow to the placenta and increase the risk of complications such as poor fetal growth, placental abruption, preterm delivery, and low birth weight. Chronic hypertension also increases your risk of developing pre-eclampsia during pregnancy.
Those possibilities sound scary, but knowing the risks allows us to watch for them.
With Nile’s high blood pressure in pregnancy care, you may need more frequent prenatal visits so we can monitor both your health and your baby’s development. Depending on your individual needs, high-risk pregnancy care may include blood and urine testing, ultrasounds, and additional tests to monitor your baby’s growth and well-being.
This is where you get to be an active member of your care team.
If Nile recommends checking your blood pressure at home, do it consistently and keep track of your readings. Take any prescribed blood pressure medication exactly as directed, and don’t stop taking a medication because you become pregnant without first talking to your provider. Some blood pressure medications aren’t appropriate during pregnancy, but your provider can determine which treatment is safe for you.
Healthy habits matter, too. Follow your provider’s recommendations for nutritious foods, appropriate weight gain, and physical activity. And keep every prenatal appointment, even when you feel terrific. With hypertension, routine checks can reveal changes you can’t feel.
Your provider may also recommend low-dose aspirin if you have an increased risk of pre-eclampsia. Don’t start this on your own; your care team will decide whether it’s appropriate for you and when to begin.
Because chronic hypertension increases your risk of pre-eclampsia, know the warning signs. Contact Nile Women’s Health Care promptly if you develop a severe or persistent headache, changes in vision, sudden swelling of your face or hands, upper abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, sudden weight gain, or trouble breathing.
And don’t stop paying attention once your baby arrives. Blood pressure complications, including postpartum pre-eclampsia, can occur after delivery, sometimes in women who never experienced pre-eclampsia while pregnant.
A diagnosis of chronic hypertension changes how we monitor your pregnancy, but it doesn’t have to overshadow it.
At Nile Women’s Health Care, our team specializes in caring for women with higher-risk pregnancies, including high blood pressure in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia. We tailor your care to your health, your blood pressure, and your baby’s needs, with closer monitoring and additional testing when necessary.
If you have chronic hypertension and you’re pregnant — or planning to become pregnant — talk with our team at Nile Women’s Health Care in Alpharetta or Johns Creek, Georgia. The earlier we understand your risks and establish a plan, the more we can do together to support a healthy pregnancy for you and your baby.
