Why women have hypertension during pregnancy

If the force is too hard, you have high blood pressure (also called hypertension). When high blood pressure starts after 20 weeks of pregnancy, it may be a sign of a very serious problem called preeclampsia.Dr Nathaniel Adewole, a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, explains that there is […]

If the force is too hard, you have high blood pressure (also called hypertension). When high blood pressure starts after 20 weeks of pregnancy, it may be a sign of a very serious problem called preeclampsia.
Dr Nathaniel Adewole, a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, explains that there is no precise cause of hypertension in pregnancy. “There are lots of theories but the precise cause is yet to be known. However, it has been found out that women that are carrying their first pregnancy are pre-disposed to high blood pressure. It is more of the genetic interaction. The woman is being exposed to the husband for the first time. The mother’s immune system may react to the father’s sperm, the placenta, or the baby. The reaction generated by this first exposure pre-dispose women who are carrying their first pregnancy to it. Also, women that are older are predisposed to high blood pressure because of age.  Then, they are women that have underlying problems like renal problem, this can cause high blood pressure but in a lot of cases, one cannot predict the cause or who will develop it,” he said.
Experts say high blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. But very high blood pressure sometimes causes headaches and shortness of breath or changes in vision. Dr Adewole explains further. “When it comes to high blood pressure a lot of times, it may not have symptoms initially. But when it become advance, head ache may come in. That is why when a pregnant woman is having headache consistently, it is not advisable that you just take paracetamol. It is better to check your blood pressure. If it is becoming advanced, it can progress to what is called pre-eclampsia, that means there is protein in the urine in addition to the high blood pressure.  Then the woman can have blurred vision, hallucination. The end case is eclampsia in which the woman has convulsion.” 
Very high blood pressure can keep the baby from getting enough blood and oxygen. This could inhibit the baby’s growth or cause the placenta to pull away too soon from the uterus. High blood pressure also could lead to stillbirth.
Preeclampsia can be deadly for the mother and baby. It can keep the baby from getting enough blood and oxygen. It also can harm the mother’s liver, kidneys and brain. Women with very bad preeclampsia can have dangerous seizures. This is called eclampsia.
If you have high blood pressure during pregnancy, you need to have checkups more often than women who do not have this problem. There is no way to know if you will get preeclampsia. This is one of the reasons that you are watched closely during your pregnancy.
On the treatments available for pregnancy induced high blood pressure, Dr Adewole says, “What we do depends on the gestational age. If the baby is 37 weeks, then we can plan the woman for delivery. If it is mild, we may not give any drug, but if it becoming severe, then we have to administer anti-hypertension drugs. But we can still manage women with pregnancy induced hypertension which is not severe. But when the woman starts having high blood pressure with protein in the urine, then we have to admit and treat her. You must control the blood pressure; prevent fits by giving what we call anti-convulser.”
Experts say the only cure for preeclampsia is having the baby. Dr Adewole corroborates this as well. “Within six weeks after delivery, pregnancy induced hypertension ought to go and blood pressure go back to normal.  In the case that it still persists in the woman, it is no longer pregnancy induced pregnancy but chronic hypertension.”