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High Blood Pressure and Miscarriage

The loss of an unborn child can be an outrageous experience for soon-to-be parents. Although, many factors have been associated with child mortality, experts have suggested that maintaining a good blood pressure before, during and after pregnancy could be of immense benefit to the mother and also the unborn child in the latter stages of life as it prevents pregnancy loss and enables proper growth and development. However, pregnancy loss is often linked with stress, sex, spiritual attacks and increased home chores. In a recent study conducted by researchers on the cause of miscarriage, evidence has shown that blood pressure level of women before pregnancy may be responsible for the nearly 2% risk of losing a baby during pregnancy. Needless to say that besides the blood pressure of women which should be checked before and during the stages of pregnancy, preconception care which prepares a woman for pregnancy should be taken seriously.
Researchers have discovered that in spite of a healthy status for a woman’s blood pressure before pregnancy, an increase in the systolic blood pressure by 10mmHg was linked to an 8% risk of having a miscarriage. It was also reported that women with diastolic blood pressure readings above the normal score of 80mmHg have a higher chance of losing their pregnancy. There is increasing concern as elevated blood pressure puts unborn babies at risk. Doctors stated that more attention should be paid to the elevated blood pressure of women at each stage of pregnancy because the higher the blood pressure, the higher the chance of suffering a miscarriage. On the other hand, women who are trying to conceive have been warned to have a regular check of their blood pressure level, exercise regularly, eat nutritious diet,and maintain healthy lifestyle behaviour to ensure a successful outcome.
Although, several reasons have been identified for miscarriage suffered by pregnant women, the exact reason still remains unknown. Diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, women with compromised wombs and those with a history of miscarriage have been suggested to be responsible for miscarriages. Despite the introduction of drugs to reduce the risk of miscarriage during pregnancy, it has been reported that an elevated blood pressure level before can lead to miscarriage towards the end of pregnancy rather than early pregnancy if early intervention is not considered. Given the devastating circumstances encountered during miscarriage, it is quite important measures and precautions are taken to ensure every unborn child does not suffer similar fate during pregnancy.
Medical personnel have reported that the negative effects of elevated blood pressure before and during pregnancy can lead to a less desirable outcome. In most cases, it results in the death of the child in the mother’s womb at a rather advanced age. Moreover, a woman who has a pre-existing hypertension is very likely to have preeclampsia during pregnancy. These pre-existing conditions including diabetes present in the mother also pose great harm to the unborn child if not quickly addressed, hence awareness should be raised to ensure women understand the importance of preconception care before pregnancy with a blood test being able to accurately determine if a pregnancy would suffer a miscarriage.
(Excerpts from Tribune Online )

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