She pumps air into the cuff to measure the pressure in your arteries when the heart contracts and then relaxes. If you have a high reading, your provider can recheck it to find out for sure if you have high blood pressure.

Your blood pressure can go up or down during the day. This is surgery in which your baby is born through a cut that your doctor makes in your belly and uterus.

During pregnancy, your provider checks your blood pressure and urine at every prenatal care checkup. Your provider may ask you to check your blood pressure at home and do kick counts to see when and how often your baby moves.

Here are two ways to do kick counts:. And even though gestational hypertension usually goes away after birth, you may be more likely to develop hypertension later in life. Healthy eating, staying active and getting to a healthy weight after pregnancy can help prevent high blood pressure in the future.

See also: Preeclampsia , HELLP syndrome. Skip to main content. Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on YouTube Share on Linkedin More Places to Share.

High blood pressure during pregnancy. Video file. Key Points High blood pressure can cause problems for you and your baby during pregnancy, including preeclampsia and premature birth. Go to all of your prenatal care visits so your provider can check your blood pressure.

If you need medicine to keep your blood pressure under control, take it every day. What is high blood pressure? How do you know if you have high blood pressure?

Your blood pressure reading is given as two numbers: Systolic blood pressure. This is the upper first number in your reading. Your blood pressure is highest when your heart beats and pumps blood. Diastolic blood pressure.

This is the lower second number in your reading. Your blood pressure falls because your heart is at rest between beats. Your blood pressure reading fits into one of five categories: Normal. This is when your systolic blood pressure is between and your diastolic pressure is less than Stage 1 high blood pressure.

This is when your systolic pressure is between or your diastolic pressure is between Stage 2 high blood pressure. This is when your systolic pressure is at least or your diastolic is at least Hypertensive crisis. Call your health care provider right away if your blood pressure is this high.

What pregnancy complications can high blood pressure cause? High blood pressure can cause problems for you and your baby during pregnancy, including: Problems for moms include: Preeclampsia. This is when a pregnant woman has high blood pressure and signs that some of her organs, like her kidneys and liver, may not be working properly.

Signs and symptoms of preeclampsia include having protein in the urine, changes in vision and severe headaches. Preeclampsia can be a serious medical condition.

Without treatment, preeclampsia can cause serious health problems, including kidney, liver and brain damage. In rare cases, it can lead to life-threatening conditions called eclampsia and HELLP syndrome.

Eclampsia causes seizures and can lead to coma. HELLP syndrome is when you have serious blood and liver problems. HELLP stands for hemolysis H , elevated liver enzymes EL , low platelet count LP.

Gestational diabetes. This is a kind of diabetes that only pregnant women get. Most women get a test for gestational diabetes at 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. Heart attack also called myocardial infarction. Kidney failure. Placental abruption. This is a serious condition in which the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus before birth.

If this happens, your baby may not get enough oxygen and nutrients in the womb. You also may have serious bleeding from the vagina.

The placenta grows in the uterus and supplies the baby with food and oxygen through the umbilical cord. Postpartum hemorrhage also called PPH. This is when a woman has heavy bleeding after giving birth. It usually happens 1 day after giving birth, but it can happen up to 12 weeks after having a baby.

Pulmonary edema. This is when fluid fills the lungs and leads to shortness of breath. This is when blood flow to your brain stops. Stroke can happen if a blood clot blocks a vessel that brings blood to the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts open. Pregnancy related death. This is when a woman dies during pregnancy or within 1 year after the end of her pregnancy from health problems related to pregnancy.

Problems for babies include: Premature birth. This is birth that happens too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy. In certain cases, a blood transfusion may be necessary.

Ultimately, however, the only way to manage HELLP is to deliver the baby, which may be earlier than expected. Most women experience symptom improvement within three days of giving birth. Yale Medicine offers a team-based approach that includes obstetric and cardiology specialists, midwives, lactation specialists, nurses, and pharmacists.

The Yale Medicine team works together to provide comprehensive pregnancy and postpartum care for mothers and their babies and will help guide expecting parents who may be at risk for preeclampsia from pre-conception through their childbirth and postpartum recovery.

Skip to Main Content. Hypertension High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Print Share. What is high blood pressure during pregnancy? Are there different types of hypertension during pregnancy? These conditions include: Chronic hypertension, which is simply another name for high blood pressure that was present before a person became pregnant or if the condition developed in the first half of her pregnancy before 20 weeks.

Gestational hypertension , when a pregnant person develops high blood pressure during the second half of her pregnancy after 20 weeks. Preeclampsia, when high blood pressure develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Preeclampsia puts stress on the heart and other organs and can cause serious complications, such as restricting the blood supply to the placenta, damaging the liver and kidneys, or causing fluid to accumulate in the lungs.

The presence of protein in urine is a sign of kidney dysfunction. Preeclampsia can be mild or severe, but even mild preeclampsia can quickly progress to more severe complications.

Preeclampsia often requires early delivery. Eclampsia, a rare but serious, life-threatening complication of preeclampsia that occurs when a pregnant woman has seizures because of untreated or undertreated preeclampsia; this requires emergency medical attention.

HELLP syndrome preeclampsia with Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzyme levels, and Low Platelet levels , a very rare type of preeclampsia.

This is a serious condition that causes liver damage and destroys red blood cells and platelets blood cells that aid in clotting. Most women with HELLP syndrome will need to deliver their baby earlier than expected.

What complications are associated with high blood pressure during pregnancy? What causes hypertension during pregnancy? How can you lower your risk of preeclampsia before pregnancy? What are the symptoms of high blood pressure during pregnancy? However, some warning symptoms can be present with preeclampsia: Painful headaches Swollen feet, ankles, and legs Swollen face or hands Blurred vision Temporary blindness Light sensitivity Pain in the upper right part of the abdomen, under the ribcage Blood in the urine Severe stomach pain Trouble breathing, typically caused by fluid in the lungs Pregnant women with preeclampsia or eclampsia may experience: Seizures Stroke Coma Pregnant women with HELLP syndrome may experience: A feeling of malaise or of being unwell Pain in the upper right part of the abdomen, under the ribcage from swelling of the liver or bleeding in the liver Vomiting.

How is high blood pressure during pregnancy diagnosed? Tests may include: Blood tests , which may show that the liver or kidneys are not functioning normally, a sign of preeclampsia or HELLP syndrome. Tests can also show that red blood cells have burst hemolysis and have leaked hemoglobin which gives blood its red color into the blood, a sign of HELLP syndrome.

These tests may need to be checked frequently. A urine test , which looks for protein in the urine. High levels of protein can indicate preeclampsia, although not all pregnant people with preeclampsia will have protein in their urine.

How is high blood pressure during pregnancy treated? Call your health care provider immediately if any of the following occurs:. Severe headache that will not go away Vision changes spots, blurring, halos Sudden swelling of hands and face Pain the right, upper abdomen Sudden weight gain more than 5 pounds in 1 week Blood pressure higher than systolic or 90 diastolic.

What is the outlook for people with hypertension during pregnancy?