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 .
The Effect of Prophylactic Management and Therapeutics on Hypertensive Disease in Pregnancy: Preliminary Studies
A controlled prospect i ve evaluation of pregnancy complicated by chronic hypertension is proposed and preliminary data on population selection and pregnancy outcome are presented . Sixty-three women with evidence of underlying hypertensive disease were followed prospect ively throughout pregnancy . Twenty-three patients were followed in a protocol of intensified prenatal care and r and omized assignment of antihypertensive agents : placebo , hydralazine , or methyldopa .  Forty patients were followed in the high-risk pregnancy clinics at Duke University . The incidence of preeclampsia in the r and omized prophylactic antihypertensive group was statistically lower than that in the nonr and omized group ( 8.7 versus 32.5 % ; P<.01 ) . There were no other statistically significant differences between the groups . The 63 hypertensive women had a high incidence of diabetes mellitus diagnosed during pregnancy ( 49.2 % ) as compared to the authors ' general obstetric population ( 8.1 % )
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 .