The findings, published in two papers in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), come from the largest randomised controlled trials of blood pressure self-monitoring in pregnancy to date addressing those at risk of high blood pressure alongside those with pregnancy hypertension. These findings, which come from 15 maternity units around England, are applicable to routine antenatal care.
Dr Katherine Tucker, lead author on the paper looking at early detection of high blood pressure and a Senior Researcher at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford said: 'Around one in ten people who are pregnant will have high blood pressure, also called hypertension. For around half of them this can develop into preeclampsia, a condition that puts both mother and baby at risk.