Open AccessCharacteristics of Hypertension in Pregnancy
Author(s) -
Andersch Bjöm,
Svensson Anders,
Hansson Lennart
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
acta obstetricia et gynecologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1600-0412
pISSN - 0001-6349
DOI - 10.3109/00016348409157120
Subject(s) - medicine , eclampsia , pregnancy , obstetrics , caesarean section , incidence (geometry) , proteinuria , blood pressure , birth weight , hypertension in pregnancy , low birth weight , preeclampsia , genetics , physics , optics , biology , kidney
. During the period 1969‐73, 0.3% of 17000 unselected non‐diabetic pregnancies in our hospital were complicated by severe pre‐eclampsia, 0.6% by mild pre‐eclampsia and 0.6% by hypertension in pregnancy. Records from affiliated maternity centres and the hospital regarding these 261 women were studied and pertinent data assembled for comparison with 260 matched normotensive pregnancies. Instrumental deliveries were more common in all types of hypertensive pregnancy, with a 35% freqeuncy of caesarean section in severe pre‐eclampsia compared with fewer than 5% for controls. Significantly longer hospitalization and increased perinatal mortality were observed in hypertensive pregnancies, most pronounced in severe pre‐eclampsia. The combination of high blood pressure and proteinuria was associated with the greatest risk for premature birth, low infant weight and perinatal mortality. The overall incidence of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy was relatively low, 1.5%, but these women counted for a significant proportion of obstetric complications requiring hospitalization and instrumental delivery.