https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1605-0

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Author(s)

Katherine L. Tucker, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
Kathryn S. Taylor, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
Carole Crawford, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
James A. Hodgkinson, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston
Clare Bankhead, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
Tricia Carver, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
Elizabeth Ewers, Obstetrics & Maternal Medicine, Birmingham Women's Hospital
Margaret Glogowska, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
Sheila M. Greenfield, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham
Lucy Annang Ingram PhD, University of South CarolinaFollow
Lisa Hinton, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
Khalid S. Khan, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London
Louise Locock, Health Services Research Unit, University of Aberdeen
Lucy Mackillop, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Women's Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital
Christine McCourt, City University London, Northampton Square
Alexander M. Pirie, Obstetrics & Maternal Medicine, Birmingham Women's Hospital, Edgbaston
Richard Stevens, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
Richard J. McManus, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford

Document Type

Article

Subject Area(s)

Adult; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory (methods); Feasibility Studies; Female; Humans; Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced (diagnosis); Pre-Eclampsia (diagnosis, etiology); Pregnancy; Prenatal Care (methods); Prenatal Diagnosis (methods); Prospective Studies

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Raised blood pressure (BP) affects approximately 10% of pregnancies worldwide, and a high proportion of affected women develop pre-eclampsia. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of self-monitoring of BP in pregnancy in women at higher risk of pre-eclampsia. METHODS: This prospective cohort study of self-monitoring BP in pregnancy was carried out in two hospital trusts in Birmingham and Oxford and thirteen primary care practices in Oxfordshire. Eligible women were those defined by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines as at higher risk of pre-eclampsia. A total of 201 participants were recruited between 12 and 16 weeks of pregnancy and were asked to take two BP readings twice daily three times a week through their pregnancy. Primary outcomes were recruitment, retention and persistence of self-monitoring. Study recruitment and retention were analysed with descriptive statistics. Survival analysis was used to evaluate the persistence of self-monitoring and the performance of self-monitoring in the early detection of gestational hypertension, compared to clinic BP monitoring. Secondary outcomes were the mean clinic and self-monitored BP readings and the performance of self-monitoring in the detection of gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia compared to clinic BP. RESULTS: Of 201 women recruited, 161 (80%) remained in the study at 36 weeks or to the end of their pregnancy, 162 (81%) provided any home readings suitable for analysis, 148 (74%) continued to self-monitor at 20 weeks and 107 (66%) at 36 weeks. Self-monitored readings were similar in value to contemporaneous matched clinic readings for both systolic and diastolic BP. Of the 23 who developed gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia and self-monitored, 9 (39%) had a raised home BP prior to a raised clinic BP. CONCLUSIONS: Self-monitoring of BP in pregnancy is feasible and has potential to be useful in the early detection of gestational hypertensive disorders but maintaining self-monitoring throughout pregnancy requires support and probably enhanced training.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1605-0

Rights

© 2022 BioMed Central Ltd unless otherwise stated. Part of Springer Nature.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

APA Citation

Tucker, K., Taylor, K., Crawford, C., Hodgkinson, J., Bankhead, C., & Carver, T. et al. (2017). Blood pressure self-monitoring in pregnancy: examining feasibility in a prospective cohort study. BMC Pregnancy And Childbirth, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1605-0

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