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 .
Randomised comparison of methyldopa and oxprenolol for treatment of hypertension in pregnancy.
Fifty-three pregnant women with moderately severe hypertension were r and omly allocated to treatment with methyldopa or oxprenolol . There were no significant differences between the groups in age , height , weight , parity , or stage of gestation at the start of treatment . The outcome of pregnancy was better in the group treated with oxprenolol , with greater maternal plasma volume expansion and placental and fetal growth . No intrauterine deaths occurred in either group , and antepartum fetal distress , detected by oxytocin challenge testing , was evident in only one patient , who received methyldopa . This infant , and one other in the methyldopa group , died in the neonatal period . No neonatal deaths occurred in the oxprenolol-treated group . Even in this small number of patients these results were considerably better than those in untreated women with hypertension of similar severity . Apgar scores in both groups were equivalent at birth , while blood sugar concentrations were higher in the oxprenolol group . Oxprenolol appears to be safe and effective in controlling hypertension during pregnancy . There was no evidence of harmful effects on the fetus , and oxprenolol may offer a selective advantage over methyldopa for fetal growth and wellbeing in utero
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 .