High blood pressure during pregnancy is dangerous to both the mother and the fetus. Luckily, many pregnant women with hypertension have had healthy babies with no serious problems.
Gestational Hypertension
Mostly, women with chronic hypertension are more likely to have complications during pregnancy than those with normal pressure. However, some women develop high blood pressure while they are pregnant, sometimes called as gestational hypertension.
High blood pressure pregnancy complications
Hypertension can harm the mother's kidneys and other organs, and it can lead to low birth weight of baby and early or premature delivery. Most serious cases of hypertension pregnancy may develop preeclampsia, which can be life threatening for both the mother and the fetus.
Statistics says about 6 to 8% of pregnant women develops high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia. Unfortunately, there is no preventive measure to avoid elevated blood pressure occurring during pregnancy. Women who are most likely to develop hypertension during pregnancy are those under 20 and over 40 years old.