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These recommendations from the ISSHP are based upon available literature and expert opinion. It is intended that this be a 'living' document, to be updated when needed as more research becomes available to influence good clinical practice. Unfortunately there is a relative lack of high quality randomised trials in the field of Hypertension in Pregnancy compared with studies in essential hypertension outside of pregnancy and ISSHP encourages greater funding and uptake of collaborative research in this field. Accordingly, the quality of evidence for the recommendations in this document has not been graded, though relevant references and explanations are provided for each recommendation. The document will be a 'living' guideline and we hope to be able to grade recommendations in the future.Guidelines and recommendations for management of hypertension in pregnancy are typically written for implementation in an ideal setting. It is acknowledged that in many parts of the world, it will not be possible to adopt all of these recommendations; for this reason, options for management in less-resourced settings are discussed separately in relation to diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment. This document has been endorsed by the International Society of Obstetric Medicine (ISOM) and the Japanese Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy (JSSHP). 5 KEY POINTS: All units managing hypertensive pregnant women should maintain and review uniform departmental management protocols and conduct regular audits of maternal & fetal outcomes.The cause(s) of pre-eclampsia and the optimal clinical management of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy remain uncertain; therefore, we recommend that every hypertensive pregnant woman be offered an opportunity to participate in research, clinical trials and follow-up studies. Classification1. Hypertension in pregnancy may be chronic (pre-dating pregnancy or diagnosed before 20 weeks of pregnancy) or de novo (either pre-eclampsia or gestational hypertension).2. Chronic hypertension is associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes and is best managed by tightly controlling maternal blood pressure (BP 110-140/85 mmHg), monitoring fetal growth and repeatedly assessing for the development of pre-eclampsia and maternal complications. This can be done in an outpatient setting.3. White-coat hypertension refers to elevated office/ clinic (≥140/90mmHg) blood pressure but normal blood pressure measured at home or work (<135/85mmHg); it is not an entirely benign condition and conveys an increased risk for pre-eclampsia. 6 4. Masked hypertension is another form of hypertension, more difficult to diagnose, characterised by blood pressure that is normal at a clinic or office visit but elevated at other times, most typically diagnosed by 24 hour ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) or automated home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM). 5.Gestational hypertension is hypertension arising de novo after 20 weeks' gestation in the absence of proteinuria and without biochemical or haematological abnormalities. It...

BackgroundIn Nigeria, hypertensive disorders have become the leading cause of facility-based maternal mortality. Many factors influence pregnant women’s health-seeking behaviors and perceptions around the importance of antenatal care. This qualitative study describes the care-seeking pathways of Nigerian women who suffer from pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. It identifies the influences – barriers and enablers – that affect their decision making, and proposes solutions articulated by women themselves to overcome the obstacles they face. Informing this study is the health belief model, a cognitive value-expectancy theory that provides a framework for exploring perceptions and understanding women’s narratives around pre-eclampsia and eclampsia-related care seeking.MethodsThis study adopted a qualitative design that enables fully capturing the narratives of women who experienced pre-eclampsia and eclampsia during their pregnancy. In-depth interviews were conducted with 42 women aged 17–48 years over five months in 2015 from Bauchi, Cross River, Ebonyi, Katsina, Kogi, Ondo and Sokoto states to ensure representation from each geo-political zone in Nigeria. These qualitative data were analyzed through coding and memo-writing, using NVivo 11 software.ResultsWe found that many of the beliefs, attitudes, knowledge and behaviors of women are consistent across the country, with some variation between the north and south. In Nigeria, women’s perceived susceptibility and threat of health complications during pregnancy and childbirth, including pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, influence care-seeking behaviors. Moderating influences include acquisition of knowledge of causes and signs of pre-eclampsia, the quality of patient-provider antenatal care interactions, and supportive discussions and care seeking-enabling decisions with families and communities. These cues to action mitigate perceived mobility, financial, mistrust, and contextual barriers to seeking timely care and promote the benefits of maternal and newborn survival and greater confidence in and access to the health system.ConclusionsThe health belief model reveals intersectional effects of childbearing norms, socio-cultural beliefs and trust in the health system and elucidates opportunities to intervene and improve access to quality and respectful care throughout a woman’s pregnancy and childbirth. Across Nigerian settings, it is critical to enhance context-adapted community awareness programs and interventions to promote birth preparedness and social support.

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This evaluation's results also show that empowered pregnant women request quality maternal health services (during antenatal visits) and ask questions about their health and those of their unborn infants. Trained personnel with essential commodities and tools will not result in significant progress if pregnant women do not register themselves early in the first trimester for antenatal care, when pre-eclampsia is amenable to preventive measures such as prophylaxis aspirin.