High blood pressure occurs in men and women of all ages. Unfortunately, although hypertension or high blood pressure is a very common condition, most people suffer from it due to unknown reasons. Some of the most affected people are pregnant women. High blood pressure is a serious condition, but if pregnant women develop it at any stage of their pregnancy, it may have devastating consequences for both the mother and the baby. As such, the first thing doctors do when pregnant women have their weekly or monthly appointments is to have their blood pressure levels checked.

Pregnant women whose blood pressure shoots up to more than 140/90 is considered to have high blood pressure. Unfortunately, high blood pressure in pregnant women could cause damages to the mother's organs, while lead to low birth weight, pre-term delivery and stillbirth on the babies.

Most of the time, pregnant women who arrive at week 20 may suffer from high blood pressure, which is referred to as "preeclampsia". When a woman develops preeclampsia, here blood pressure rises above 140/90 and her urine would contain protein, which could affect the placenta and damage the mother's brain, liver and kidneys. If left untreated and progresses into seizures, the mother would suffer from eclampsia.

About 6 to 8% of pregnant women develop high blood pressure or preeclampsia. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent elevated blood pressure from occurring during pregnancy, but doctors still recommend eating healthy. Women who are most likely to experience high blood pressure are those under 20 and over 40 years old, those with multiple fetuses, those with arthritis, lupus, diabetes and kidney disease and those who suffer from obesity. Of course, women with history of experiencing high blood pressure or preeclampsia during their former pregnancies are more likely to have high blood pressure during their future pregnancies. The only way to cure high blood pressure while pregnant is to deliver the baby.
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