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Objective We sought to evaluate associations between dietary patterns and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure during pregnancy. Study Design This was a prospective study of 3187 pregnant women. Participants completed a food-frequency questionnaire in early pregnancy. The Mediterranean dietary pattern, comprising high intake of vegetables, vegetable oils, pasta, fish, and legumes, and the Traditional dietary pattern, comprising high intake of meat and potatoes, were identified using factor analysis. Results A higher SBP was observed among mothers with high Traditional pattern adherence. Low adherence to the Mediterranean pattern was also associated with higher SBP but only in early and mid pregnancy. A higher diastolic blood pressure throughout pregnancy was observed in mothers with high adherence to the Traditional pattern and low adherence to the Mediterranean pattern. These effect estimates were most pronounced in mid pregnancy. Conclusion Low adherence to a Mediterranean and high adherence to a Traditional dietary pattern is associated with a higher blood pressure in pregnancy.

The purpose of this study was to investigate maternal plasma concentrations of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) in mid pregnancy and at the time of disease in women who experience preeclampsia, compared with women with uncomplicated pregnancies and women with small-for-gestational-age infants.Plasma samples were collected at mid-pregnancy and at the time of delivery from 31 women with uncomplicated pregnancies, from 12 women with small-for-gestational-age infants, and from 15 women with preeclampsia. ADMA and L-arginine concentrations were measured using high-pressure liquid chromatography.Maternal ADMA concentrations were elevated at mid pregnancy and remained elevated at delivery in women who later experienced preeclampsia (0.45 +/- 0.09 micromol/L) compared with women with uncomplicated pregnancies (0.34 +/- 0.08 micromol/L; P.01) and with women with small-for-gestational-age infants (0.33 +/- 0.06 micromol/L; P.01).Maternal ADMA concentrations are higher in mid pregnancy in women who experience preeclampsia, compared with women with uncomplicated pregnancies and small-for-gestational-age infants. Elevated ADMA concentration before clinical onset of preeclampsia suggests a role of this nitric oxide synthase inhibitor in the pathophysiologic condition of preeclampsia.

To elucidate further the effect of maternal glucose concentration in the regulation of human chorionic somatomammotropin (HCS) secretion, normal women in mid-pregnancy and in the third trimester were subjected to sustained hyperglycemia (via glucose infusion) and transient hyperglycemia (via a rapid intravenous glucose tolerance test), respectively. In all studies, significant changes in serum HCS concentrations were not observed, although the mean serum HCS concentration showed a slight decline during the infusion and slight rise following the infusion.