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 .
A comparison of labetalol plus hospitalization versus hospitalization alone in the management of preeclampsia remote from term.
Two hundred primigravid women with mild preeclampsia at 26 - 35 weeks ' gestation were r and omly allocated to treatment with hospitalization alone or combined with labetalol . There were no differences between the two groups in mean systolic or diastolic pressures , mean gestational age , or initial laboratory findings at time of entry . Patients in the labetalol group demonstrated a statistically significant ( P less than .005 ) decrease in blood pressure during treatment . No such decrease occurred in the hospitalization-alone group . Both groups exhibited significant deterioration in proteinuria , creatinine , and uric acid . The average days of pregnancy prolongation ( mean + /- SD ) were 21.3 + /- 13 and 20.1 + /- 14 days in the hospitalization and labetalol groups , respectively . There were no differences between the groups regarding any of the following : gestational age at delivery , birth weight , number of infants admitted to the special care unit , or cord blood gas measurements . However , the incidence of small-for-gestational-age infants was significantly higher in the labetalol group ( 19 versus 9 % , P less than .05 ) . There were no stillbirths , but one neonatal death in the labetalol group . Treatment of maternal blood pressure in preeclamptic pregnancies with labetalol  did not improve perinatal outcome , and was associated with a higher frequency of fetal growth retardation
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 .