The blood pressure course in primiparous pregnancy. A prospective study of 383 women.
Left lateral recumbent blood pressures were studied throughout pregnancy in all nulliparous women presenting for prenatal care at a single outpatient clinic. Six percent of these women developed preeclampsia. The incidence of preeclampsia was markedly higher among teens (13.6%). Diastolic blood pressure among normal women declined by less than 5 mm Hg from the first trimester to midgestation. During the third trimester the diastolic pressure returned to first-trimester levels. No significant difference was detected in the first- and early-second-trimester group mean blood pressure between normals and women later developing preeclampsia. However, by 25-28 weeks, before the onset of overt preeclampsia, blood pressures were significantly higher among preeclamptics.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D011295:Prenatal Care; D011446:Prospective Studies