Gestational high blood pressure, adverse effects on breastfeeding...The odds are low and the duration is short
Jul 21, 2025
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Normal blood pressure during pregnancy is less than 140 mmHg systolic and 90 mmHg diastolic. If it exceeds this, it is diagnosed as gestational hypertension. The typical criteria for hypertension are systolic 120 mmHg and diastolic 80 mmHg.
The causes of high blood pressure during pregnancy include first pregnancy, aged 35 or older, obesity or diabetes, chronic hypertension history, and family history.
Gestational hypertension returns to normal blood pressure within 12 weeks of delivery, but can be accompanied by serious complications such as headache, visual impairment, thrombocytopenia, decreased liver function, pulmonary edema, and delayed fetal growth. In particular, proteinuria, which is excreted by mixing proteins in urine, appears in 15-25%, and may progress to preeclampsia, commonly called pregnancy poisoning. It has also been reported that mothers with pregnancy addiction have a high incidence of cardiovascular disease in middle age.
In addition to these risks, a recent study found that if a mother has gestational hypertension, the probability of breastfeeding significantly decreases.
In a paper published by Dr. Deanna Nadella's team at Yale University Medical School in the American Medical Association's journal JAMA Network Open, this association was confirmed in a study of more than 200,000 mothers.
In this study, the research team used the CDC's pregnancy risk assessment monitoring system (PRAMS) data to investigate HDP and breastfeeding status and duration in 205,247 mothers (born January 2016 to November 2021) living in 43 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.
The analysis showed that women with gestational hypertension disease were 11% more likely than those without gestational hypertension disease to stop breastfeeding at all, and 17% more likely to stop breastfeeding before the recommended period. At the time of discontinuation of breastfeeding, mothers without gestational hypertension had an average of 34 weeks after childbirth, but mothers with gestational hypertension had an average of 17 weeks.
The research team pointed out that breastfeeding may alleviate the long-term risk of heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke in mothers due to gestational high blood pressure, but breastfeeding is not being done properly. According to the CDC, 83% of women in the United States begin breastfeeding, but only 25% of them completely breastfeeding for the recommended six-month period.
The research team said the results suggest a negative association between gestational hypertension disease and breastfeeding, adding that the study will be an important guide in establishing strategies to help all families achieve their lactation goals.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
