Labor Induction Can Reduce Pregnancy Complications In Women With Hypertension, Study Says

Induction of labor is the best strategy to reduce pregnancy-related complications in women with hypertension and preeclampsia, a study stated. According to the research, it helps in improving the maternal outcome without compromising neonatal health.

The study, published in the medical journal Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology on Wednesday, tried to find out the impact of expectant monitoring and induction of labor in women with gestational hypertension or mild preeclampsia at the end of pregnancy in The Netherlands.

Through the study, the research team aimed at evaluating the impact of labor timings and the subsequent outcomes of it for the mother and her infant. And, they found induction of labor reduces several high risk factors associated with gestational hypertension or preeclampsia for the mother after 36 weeks of pregnancy, without compromising on the health of her baby.

High blood pressure or hypertension and preeclampsia are the two most common pregnancy-related complications. Every year, nearly 10 million women worldwide develop this condition and around 76,000 of them due to this pregnancy disorder.

Previous studies have suggested that preeclampsia increases the risk of maternal as well as neonatal morbidity and mortality by 10-15 percent. About 500,000 babies are thought to die due to hypertension during pregnancy.

The latest research stated that an improved obstetric outcome was witnessed in term pregnancies complicated by hypertension and preeclampsia with the rise in induction of labor.

For the study, the research analyzed the data of 143,749 women with preeclampsia or gestational hypertension that they collected from the Dutch National Perinatal Registry. All the participants in the study were carrying single babies and they gave birth between 37 and 41 weeks of gestational period during the years 2000 - 2014.

At the end of the study, the research team found that maternal mortality rate reduced from 0.022 percent to 0.004 percent with an increase in the labor induction rate. They also found that prenatal death rate decreased from 0.49 percent to 0.27 percent during the same period.

The research team concluded that following the Hypertension and Preeclampsia Intervention Trial At near Term‐I (HYPITAT‐I), there was a higher rate of induction of labor and improved obstetric outcome in term pregnancies complicated by hypertension disorder.

“With our impact analysis, we were able to evaluate whether expected results based on a randomized controlled trial were or could be reflected in daily care,” Catherine de Sonnaville of OLVG in the Netherlands said in a statement.

“Also, this is the only way to reveal unintended effects resulting from widespread adoption of interventions and therefore provides important information,” the researcher added.