Problems of blood pressure drugs in pregnancy
Wednesday May 19th, 2010
Common drugs used to treat high blood pressure in pregnancy may affect a child's future health, researchers warned today.
The problem can lead to pre-eclampsia and its life-threatening complications. Women are treated with antihypertensive drugs, but there is a lack of research on the effects of prenatal exposure to such drugs.
Dr Pieternel Pasker-de Jong of Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and colleagues studied women given the two drugs labetalol or methyldopa for blood pressure during pregnancy between 1983 and 1987.
Their children were followed up at between four and ten years of age, and compared with children of women who were treated with "bed rest". There were 202 children in total.
Children who were exposed to labetalol during pregnancy had a significantly higher risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and those exposed to methyldopa tended to have more sleeping problems.
Findings are published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Journal editor Professor Philip Steer said: "The benefits of taking such medication to prevent maternal and/or foetal death outweigh the possibility of less catastrophic long-term effects. But the results suggest that more large-scale studies looking at the effects of antihypertensive drugs on the baby long-term are warranted."
Dr Tahir Mahmood of the UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists responded to the study by saying: "This study is interesting but it does not mean that pregnant women suffering from hypertension should be all prescribed with bed rest. Indeed, there may be serious consequences for the woman if timely drug treatment isn't provided.
"All pregnant women should keep to their antenatal appointments with their midwives so that their pregnancy progress is monitored."
Pasker-de Jong P. et al. Antihypertensive treatment during pregnancy and functional development at primary school age in a historical cohort study. BJOG 2010, in press.
Tags: Child Health | Childbirth and Pregnancy | Europe | Pharmaceuticals | UK News | Women’s Health & Gynaecology
Printer friendly page