Monitored outpatient management of mild gestational hypertension remote from term in teenage pregnancies

Outpatient management of pregnant teenagers with mild gestational hypertension appears to be adequate in reducing the risks of complications from preeclampsia. Researchers followed 60 pregnant teenagers and 120 pregnant adults in an outpatient clinic. All of the women had mild pregnancy-induced hypertension. They had their blood pressure checked four times a day and were also weighed, tested for protein in their urine and assessed for fetal movement. Most were delivered postterm and birth weights were similar in both groups of women. None developed eclampsia and there were no stillbirths in either group. Teenagers with gestational hypertension are believed to have a higher risk of premature birth and low-weight-birth infants, but many teens are not compliant with hospital treatment. Outpatient management might guarantee that these teens will give birth to healthy babies.