Low blood pressure affects fetus too

doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7478.0-a

BMJ 2004;329 (4 December), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7478.0-a

Low blood pressure affects fetus too

Both low and high maternal diastolic blood pressures duringpregnancy are associated with lower birth weight of firstbornbabies and higher perinatal mortality. Steer and colleagues(p 1312) prospectively observed 210 814 babies of mothers withouthigh blood pressure before 20 weeks' gestation and found a Ushaped relation between maternal blood pressure and both birthweight and perinatal death. Perinatal outcomes were best whenthe mother's highest recorded diastolic blood pressure duringpregnancy was between 70 and 90 mm Hg.