Monitored outpatient management of mild gestational hypertension remote from term in teenage pregnancies.
OBJECTIVE
Our purpose was to compare maternal and perinatal outcomes of teenage and adult pregnancies with mild gestational hypertension remote from term managed with an outpatient program.


METHODS
A matched cohort design was used. Maternal and perinatal outcomes of 60 teenage pregnancies with mild gestational hypertension remote from term were compared with 120 adult controls 20 to 42 years old. The groups were matched for race, gestational age, and proteinuria status at enrollment. All were monitored on an outpatient basis with four times daily automated blood pressure measurement and daily assessment of weight, proteinuria, and fetal movement.


RESULTS
The mean gestational age at enrollment was 33.5 +/- 2.6 weeks for both groups (range 27 to 36 weeks). Only 60% of teenagers had a high school degree or equivalent compared with 76% of adults (p = 0.024). The teenagers were more likely than the adults to be of single marital status (75% vs 13%, p = 0.015). The mean gestational age at delivery (37.0 +/- 2.0 vs 37.0 +/- 2.2 weeks), mean pregnancy prolongation (23.5 +/- 19.0 vs 24.5 +/- 17.4 days), and mean birth weights (2915 +/- 669 vs 2879 +/- 678 gm) were not statistically different between the teenagers and adults (all p > 0.05). There were no stillbirths, neonatal deaths, or cases of eclampsia in either group.


CONCLUSIONS
In spite of a study population characterized by limited education, single marital status, and young age at enrollment, monitored outpatient management of mild gestational hypertension remote from term in teenage pregnancies is associated with maternal and perinatal outcomes similar to those observed in adults.
Barton
J R
JR
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Central Baptist Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Stanziano
G J
GJ
Jacques
D L
DL
Bergauer
N K
NK
Sibai
B M
BM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000503:physiopathology; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence