Beta-blockers appear to be no more effective and probably equally as safe .
It is unusual for women to change drugs due to side effects .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS Improvement in control of maternal blood pressure with use of beta-blockers would be worthwhile only if it were reflected in substantive benefits for mother and /or baby , and none have been clearly demonstrated .
Large r and omised trials are needed to determine whether antihypertensive therapy in general ( rather than beta-blocker therapy specifically ) results in greater benefit than risk , for treatment of mild-moderate pregnancy hypertension .
BACKGROUND Antihypertensives , such as beta-blockers , are used for pregnancy hypertension in the belief these will improve outcome for mother and baby .
OBJECTIVES To assess whether oral beta-blockers are better than placebo , or no beta-blocker , and have advantages over other antihypertensives , for women with mild to moderate pregnancy hypertension .
A randomized comparison of early with conservative use of antihypertensive drugs in the management of pregnancy‐induced hypertension
Summary . Two treatment strategies were compared in 155 women with pregnancy‐induced hypertension who were also given comprehensive non‐pharmacological care . The mean gestation at entry was 28 weeks . As long as the diastolic blood pressure ( DBP ) remained below 106 mmHg , oxprenolol , or oxprenolol plus dihydralazine , were given to the early treatment group , and matching placebos to the control group . Open antihypertensive treatment was provided for patients whose DBP rose above 105 mmHg . Proteinuria occurred in seven women in each group . In the early treatment group , 13 of the 78 women were delivered by caesarean section ; the corresponding numbers in the control group were 27 of 76 ( 17 vs 36 % , 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) of difference : 5‐33 % ) ; the sections included seven and 16 in the early treatment and control groups , respectively , for severe hypertension and /or fetal distress . There were five perinatal deaths , two in the early treatment group and three in the control group . Early treatment did not influence gestational age at birth or birthweight . Respiratory distress syndrome occurred in four infants in the early treated group and in 10 in the control group ; 14 infants in the former group and 26 in the latter were in hospital for more than 10 days ( 18 vs 35 % ; 95 % CI of difference 4.32 % ) . These results indicate that early antihypertensive treatment with oxprenolol  is safe for the fetus and newborn in pregnancy‐induced hypertension , but has no advantage over non‐pharmacological care in terms of fetal growth . However , it may prevent acute hypertension in late pregnancy and associated fetal distress , and thus reduce the number of caesarean sections
Beta-blockers appear to be no more effective and probably equally as safe .
It is unusual for women to change drugs due to side effects .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS Improvement in control of maternal blood pressure with use of beta-blockers would be worthwhile only if it were reflected in substantive benefits for mother and /or baby , and none have been clearly demonstrated .
Large r and omised trials are needed to determine whether antihypertensive therapy in general ( rather than beta-blocker therapy specifically ) results in greater benefit than risk , for treatment of mild-moderate pregnancy hypertension .
BACKGROUND Antihypertensives , such as beta-blockers , are used for pregnancy hypertension in the belief these will improve outcome for mother and baby .
OBJECTIVES To assess whether oral beta-blockers are better than placebo , or no beta-blocker , and have advantages over other antihypertensives , for women with mild to moderate pregnancy hypertension .