July 29 (UPI) -- Rates of high blood pressure in pregnant women throughout the United States rose substantially over an eight-year-span, a new report released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The report said that one in 10 pregnant women in the United States had high blood pressure in 2024, up from one in 17 in 2016. That marks a 73% increase over those years.
"Hypertensive (related to high blood pressure) disorders in pregnancy ... are common pregnancy complications and are among the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States," the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics reported.
High blood pressure during pregnancy increases the risk of serious issues, including organ damage or failure, placental abruption, preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth, the report said. It did not include high pressure that was diagnosed before pregnancy, which also affects many women and is rising.
Dr. Elizabeth K. Cherot, an obstetrician-gynecologist, told The New York Times that the report's numbers, which were drawn from birth certificate information, mark "a substantial rise" in pregnancy hypertension.
