High blood pressure in pregnancy increases risk of birth defects

Updated Trends: High blood pressure during early pregnancy increases the risk of major birth defects, a new study has suggested. The study also revealed that it is the high blood pressure that increases the risk other than the medicines used to control the condition.

For many years, the pregnant women have been warned not to take medicines called ACE inhibitors in the later stages of pregnancy so as to avoid the possibilities of birth defects. But it is still not clear if such drugs are safe to be taken in the first trimester.

A study in the year 2006 had concluded that it wasn’t risky, but two of the recent studies have found that the risk increased due to the other blood pressure drugs also. But on the other hand, some of the researchers who were involved in a larger study had said that it was the blood pressure itself that increases the risk of birth defects and not the medications.

When compared to women without blood pressure problems, those with the condition had given birth to babies with brain or spinal cord defects or congenital heart, regardless if they had taken the ACE inhibitors or other medications for blood pressure or even those who did not take any treatment at all.