Maternal Stress During Pregnancy Tied to Elevated Blood Pressure in First Postpartum Year, Study Finds
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Psychosocial stress during pregnancy could lead to higher blood pressure during the first year postpartum according to research from Keck School of Medicine of USC.
The study, published in Hypertension and supported by the National Institutes of Health, investigated whether mothers who reported higher perceived stress and depressive symptoms during pregnancy, developed higher blood pressure in the four-year period after birth. The findings showed higher stress and depressive symptoms during pregnancy were associated with greater blood pressure during the first year postpartum, but associations diminished thereafter.
The study included data from 225 mothers. In addition to prenatal psychosocial stress, Pardo explored whether prenatal neighborhood social cohesion was a protective factor for postpartum hypertension risk—a first investigation of its kind. This refers to the sense of connection and trust a pregnant woman experiences in her community. According to her findings, social structures that promoted cohesion may have had a positive influence throughout pregnancy into the postpartum period and were associated with lower blood pressure.
The real-world application of this study calls for the identification of vulnerable individuals in the pregnant population, offering interventions to reduce stress and depressive symptoms. Similarly, it emphasizes the importance of monitoring women’s health after birth, through the provision of additional hypertension screenings among mothers who experience higher prenatal stress.
Ref: Pardo N, Eckel S P et al. Prenatal Psychosocial Stressors and Blood Pressure Across 4 Years Postpartum. Hypertension. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.124.23979
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