When you’re pregnant, your blood pressure will be checked on your
prenatal visits, but it’s important for you to monitor your blood pressure at
home. In fact, it’s a good idea to know what your blood pressure is before
you get pregnant so you have a baseline to refer to as you track your blood
pressure during pregnancy. Blood pressure is relative. What is normal for
you may be high for someone who starts their pregnancy at a lower blood
pressure than is normal for you.
I strongly recommend you purchase a wrist blood pressure cuff and
keep it handy during your pregnancy. Take your blood pressure about the
same time at least once a day. These wrist cuffs may not be as accurate as
a cuff that wraps around your upper arm, but they are accurate enough to
watch the increases and decreases in your blood pressure. You can even
take your blood pressure cuff to your prenatal visit and check how closely
the readings are to your doctor’s blood pressure cuff.
Blood pressure normally goes up and down during the length of your
pregnancy. Your blood pressure usually drops in the first trimester, stays
low in the second trimester, and then gradually increases in the third
trimester.
Elevated blood pressure is often the first sign of pre-eclampsia. If you
have high blood pressure, try to get it under control before becoming
pregnant.
In pregnancy, blood pressure hardly ever rises precipitously. It almost
always rises slowly and predictably. In my experience, it is far better to treat
increasing blood pressure in its early stages.
It is also important to monitor your blood pressure even after your
baby is delivered. Often, people assume that the possibility of eclampsia
subsides one your baby is born, but it doesn’t work that way. Sometimes,
the postpartum period is the worst time for blood pressure elevations.
Continue to take your blood pressure after you are home. If it goes up, call
your doctor.
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