The Impact of Low Blood Pressure During Pregnancy on Your Baby’s Health
Blood pressure issues are important to control before its adverse results in pregnancy. It increases the risk for foetal deaths, preterm birth, low birthweight and more.
A pregnancy phase in a woman's body can literally change physiology and hormonal balance. Among all commonly seen problems come as developing gestational diabetes and hypotension. It is pretty common to have some symptoms like low blood pressure during pregnancy. If you find such symptoms developed in the body then consult your doctor as soon as possible and monitor on health. Can low blood pressure affect the growth rate of your baby? Sit with patience and know how it affects, treatment and control in this blog.
Understanding Blood Pressure and Pregnancy
Soon to become a mother’s body develops several changes during the pregnancy phase. It is essential to ensure the proper nourishment and growth of a baby. One among such common changes is vascular distensibility which means a dilation in walls of blood vessels. The dilation can help to supply the proper amount of blood to the fetus for its proper growth.
On the other hand, dilation in blood vessels can lead to reduced blood pressure resulting in causes of hypotension. So are low blood pressure during pregnancy risks? Umm! Yes. Low blood pressure might affect the growth of a baby in several ways. It includes premature birth, development delays and low birth weight and more. But don’t worry these symptoms only last for the first 24 weeks. Later, the body gets adapted to gestation and solves the problem itself.
But wait, how will you differentiate between normal and low pressure levels? In normal cases, the blood pressure ranges from 120/80 mm Hg. Low blood pressure range pregnancy comes down to 90/60 mm Hg. Here it develops symptoms like low energy, dizziness, weak and lethargic feeling.
Causes of Low Blood Pressure in Pregnancy
What causes low blood pressure in pregnancy? Let’s check out causes for low blood pressure readings during pregnancy.
- A growing fetus in a worm is completely dependent on the mother's body for nutrition and energy. It uses the energy for cell division and growth of the body making you lethargic.
- There are several hormones released in the body after getting pregnant. These hormones are responsible for causing dilation of blood vessels. This ultimately leads to very low blood pressure during pregnancy.
- Pregnancy comes readily along with symptoms like vomiting, nausea, morning sickness etc. All of these can make a disturbance in intake of food resulting in weakness.
- You might feel dizzy when tackled with sudden movement from bed or floor.
- Constant vomiting can cause dehydration
- Anemia is also a common symptom
- Infections
- Excessive vomiting
- Loss of blood due to internal bleeding
- Development of medical conditions like heart disease, endocrine gland malfunction and more.
Symptoms and Detection
Make a quick review for symptoms of low blood pressure in pregnancy.
- Cold skin
- Weakness
- Fainting
- Nausea
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Lethargic feeling
- Dizziness or double vision
- Increased thirst
- Falls
- Shock
If you commonly face such low pressure symptoms during pregnancy then it’s also important to keep an eye for medical advice. You need to immediately consult the doctor, if stroked out with longer low pressure issues. It mainly lead you to experience symptoms like,
- Breathlessness
- Cold
- Clammy skin
- Blurred vision
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Nausea in extreme level
Do you have medical history related to low pressure apart from pregnancy? If yes, then it is important to seek medical advice for ensuring proper growth of the baby. The doctor might advise you to make changes in lifestyle, diet, fluid intake and medicines too. All of these can help to balance low blood pressure and pregnancy. Always remember to seek attention on health during pregnancy for a healthy baby.
Risks Associated with Low Blood Pressure
You might face low blood pressure symptoms during pregnancy for about the first and second trimesters. Does low blood pressure of a mother prove risky during pregnancy? Low reading of blood pressure leads to development of low energy, dizziness, fatigue and more.
Low blood pressure if present in severe condition is responsible for making great impact on both mother and baby’s health. For instance, low blood pressure leads to cause of faint and fall to mother. This will ultimately lead the baby in trauma condition. Even stress for expectant mothers can lead to low blood pressure.
In some cases, low blood pressure would get prolonged indicating ectopic pregnancy. It is a very serious condition with low blood pressure early pregnancy sign which needs a focal point for medication. If left untreated hypotension might lead to stillbirth of baby or preterm labor pain in mother.
You should always make a watch on low blood pressure issues during pregnancy to minimise such risk. Make regular appointments with a doctor to monitor the overall health of mother and baby both.
Managing Low Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
Low blood pressure might not prove harmful every time during pregnancy. But then too it may affect the health of mother and baby causing discomfort and complications in the pregnancy phase. You can prefer to use some medication with a doctor's prescription like midodrine, ephedrine etc. But why to consume pills when low blood pressure is easily manageable with little changes in diet, lifestyle and more. Let’s check out some remedies to manage low blood pressure.
Proper diet
- You should remain hydrated with intake of about 100 ml fluid every hour. It includes water, coconut water, fruit juice etc.
- Include fruits and vegetables more in diet
- Try to schedule small portions of food with frequent meals. Avoid large meals as much as possible.
- Nausea could get cured with a sip of ginger tea.
- Coffee sometimes is also proven beneficial.
- Prefer to drink pure milk for maintaining low blood pressure.
Adequate rest
- Don’t stand up suddenly from bed or floor which might lead to abrupt change in blood pressure.
- Try to sleep on your left side to reduce the dizziness and increase the blood flow.
- Keep your feet on bed instead of flour to give your body some rest.
- Switch to loose clothes. Also, add upon the compression stockings to ensure proper blood flow.
Exercise
Exercise can definitely prove worth improving blood flow. But before switching to any physical exercise, you should consult a doctor to avoid any kind of complications.
Stay hydrated
You need to remain hydrated with periodic intake of water, coconut water, fruit juice, soups and more. All of these will help you to make blood pressure reading normal.
Avoid bathing for longer time
Low blood pressure early pregnancy can come up due to bathing in the bathtub for longer. Or even you should avoid hot showers to reduce the risk of getting low blood pressure.
Conclusion
Low blood pressure is common during pregnancy yet it gets important to make periodic monitoring on symptoms. It might affect the health of mother and baby in different ways. You need to preferably only make some dietary and lifestyle changes to manage blood pressure problems. Watch for the symptoms and try to minimise it with a consulting doctor to avoid any complications in your pregnancy journey. Further, Ayurveda can help you to provide gentle and natural support to proper regulation of blood pressure. With a bit of self care and following ayurveda, mother-to-be can navigate ways to deal with low blood pressure and lead the journey with ease and confidence.
FAQ Section
- How to identify symptoms of low blood pressure in pregnancy?
The low blood pressure develops many of the symptoms during pregnancy. It mainly includes nausea, headache, fainting, cold skin, double vision, lethargy and more.
- What are the common causes of low blood pressure during pregnancy?
It might come due to secretion of pregnancy hormones in the mother's body. It leads to dilation of blood vessels resulting in low blood pressure. Even the foetus uses the energy of the mother to make growth and cell division which may prove a common cause of low BP.
- How can low blood pressure affect the baby’s development and health?
Low blood pressure can lead to development of hypotension in the mother's body. This may lead to a faint and fall situation ultimately giving sudden trauma to the baby. Even the baby might suffer from hypoxic brain damage in severe conditions of low blood pressure.
- What are the treatment options or ways to manage low blood pressure during pregnancy?
It is simply demanded to make a little changes in lifestyle and diet. You should remain hydrated and make constant monitoring on health. Take proper rest and exercise a little.
- Are there preventive measures to avoid low blood pressure?
Yes, definitely you can prefer to adopt a healthy lifestyle with proper diet, exercise, hydration, and adequate rest. All of these will together help to avoid low blood pressure issues.
- What are the risks of very low blood pressure during pregnancy?
Very low blood pressure during pregnancy may lead mothers to experience several symptoms like dizziness, breathlessness, fatigue, low energy and more.