THE CURRENT IMPACT OF THE HYPERTENSIVE DISORDERS OF PREGNANCY

The present investigation examines the effect of the various hypertensive disorders of pregnancy on perinatal outcome. Five hundred and five pregnancies associated with hypertension were reviewed, yielding an overall incidence of 8%. Multiparas accounted for 34.7% of all hypertensive patients, 30.7% of these with pre-eclampsia, and 43.3% with chronic hypertension. Transient and chronic hypertension accounted for 32.8% and 24.2% of preterm deliveries respectively. Of those infants necessitating NICU admission, 19(6.6%) and 11(12.0%) were from the transient and chronic hypertensive groups respectively. The total number of days spent in the NICU was 1,160. The perinatal death rate for transient hypertension and chronic hypertension was 4/1,000 and 3/1,000 respectively. Although, proteinuric hypertension in primigravidas results in very high risk pregnancies, a large proportion of the increase in fetal/neonatal risks in women with hypertension are due to other forms of pregnancy associated hypertension.