REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS It remains unclear whether antihypertensive drug therapy for mild-moderate hypertension during pregnancy is worthwhile
BACKGROUND Mild-moderate hypertension during pregnancy is common .
Antihypertensive drugs are often used in the belief that lowering blood pressure will prevent progression to more severe disease , and thereby improve outcome .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of antihypertensive drug treatments for women with mild to moderate hypertension during pregnancy .
Treatment of hypertension in pregnancy with methyldopa: a randomized double blind study.
Twenty-five patients whose pregnancies were complicated by chronic hypertension were entered in a double-blind study and r and omly allocated to treatment with methyldopa ( Aldomet ) or placebo .  Thirteen patients were in the treatment group and 12 in the placebo group . The two groups showed no significant difference in demographic and pretreatment laboratory profiles . Methyldopa-treated patients registering in the first trimester had a significant reduction in the mean arterial pressure ( MAP ) during the second and third trimesters ( P less than 0.025 ) . No significant differences in birth weight ( BW ) , ponderal index ( PI ) were found when results were corrected for gestational age ( GA ) , race , and sex . The mean GA was significantly prolonged in the methyldopa-treated group by 10.3 days ( P less than 0.05 ) . The frequency of superimposed pre-eclampsia was similar in both groups ( 33.3 % vs. 38.4 % ) . However , 75 % of the superimposed pre-eclampsia occurred antepartum in the placebo group , while 80 % of the methyldopa-treated group developed superimposed pre-eclampsia intrapartum . The results of this small study suggest that the treatment of hypertension in pregnancy may reduce MAP and possibly delay the occurrence of superimposed pre-eclampsia and thus afford a prolongation of the pregnancy
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS It remains unclear whether antihypertensive drug therapy for mild-moderate hypertension during pregnancy is worthwhile
BACKGROUND Mild-moderate hypertension during pregnancy is common .
Antihypertensive drugs are often used in the belief that lowering blood pressure will prevent progression to more severe disease , and thereby improve outcome .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of antihypertensive drug treatments for women with mild to moderate hypertension during pregnancy .