HOW SWEDISH OBSTETRICIANS MANAGE HYPERTENSION IN PREGNANCY

Abstract

One hundred and seventy-nine obstetricians in Sweden answered a questionnaire on the management of pregnant women with hypertension. A similar study on English practice has been published earlier. In mild hypertension, 33% of the obstetricians did not prescribe medical treatment at all, while in more severe cases almost all of them would recommend a combination of hydralazine and diuretics or betablockers. There was a considerable unanimity in the replies about what treatment a patient with hypertension could use or should stop using during pregnancy. In comparison with English obstetricians the Swedish colleagues seldom consider termination of pregnancy in hypertension during early pregnancy.