LONDON (AP) - A new study suggests that high blood pressure during
early pregnancy is what raises the risk of major birth defects - not the
medicines used to control the condition, as previously thought.
Pregnant women have been warned for years to
avoid drugs called ACE inhibitors during the later stages of pregnancy
to avoid the possibility of birth defects. But whether it was safe to
take them during the first trimester wasn't clear.
A 2006 paper concluded no, and two later studies
found an increased risk with other blood pressure drugs as well.
Researchers behind a new, larger study suggest it's the high blood
pressure itself that is responsible for the higher risk of birth
defects, not the medications.
Compared to women without high blood
pressure, those with the condition were more likely to have babies with
congenital heart, brain or spinal cord defects regardless of whether
they were taking ACE inhibitors, other medications, or getting no
treatment at all, the study found.
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