Headache during pregnancy

Abstract

Headaches are a common neurological complaint during pregnancy. Most are primary and benign but secondary headaches may also occur. In the first trimester, the complaints are mainly due to primary headaches, and in the last trimester, the proportion of secondary headaches increases. This article provides clinical characteristics of secondary headaches during pregnancy. The limited range of drugs that can be used during pregnancy, in the absence of potential adverse effects on the mother and fetus/newborn, causes certain difficulties in the management of these patients. This review will consider approaches to the treatment of headaches during pregnancy. A non-drug therapeutic strategy is preferred for the treatment of primary headaches during pregnancy. Treatment should not be delayed because uncontrolled headaches can have negative effects on both the mother and the fetus. If non-drug therapy does not lead to the expected control of headache attacks, a choice should be made regarding the use of drug therapy while weighing the benefits and risks of such a choice.

Headache Characteristics and Their Influencing Factors Among Pregnant Women in Saudi Arabia: A Survey Study

“…The results underline the significant prevalence of headaches among pregnant women, with approximately 246 (59.9%) reporting this condition before and during pregnancy. This aligns with previous studies highlighting the high prevalence of headaches during pregnancy [18][19][20][21]. This emphasizes the crucial role of healthcare professionals in paying attention to complaints about headaches during prenatal visits.…”

“…This emphasizes the crucial role of healthcare professionals in paying attention to complaints about headaches during prenatal visits. Headaches during pregnancy can be attributed to various factors, such as primary and secondary headaches, hormonal changes, stress, dehydration, and insufficient sleep [20][21][22]. A detailed analysis of headache characteristics before pregnancy revealed that most headaches were undiagnosed 211 (51.3%), stressing the importance of accurate headache diagnosis before pregnancy [12,23].…”