Hypertension in pregnant women.

Although hypertension is the most common and significant risk factor in pregnancy, the risks can be minimized with careful supervision and therapy. The mere presence of hypertension, even of severe hypertension, is neither a contraindication to pregnancy nor an indication for the termination of pregnancy, provided that appropriate management principles are applied. For optimum management, the skills of the obstetrician, the physician and, later in pregnancy, of the neonatologist should all be employed to the full. The ability to monitor the fetus closely, and to offer intensive care to the premature newborn, is critical in making decisions about the timing and mode of delivery. These women, as all other women with high-risk pregnancies, should be receiving treatment in centres which can offer adequate care both to the mother and to the baby.