![]() However, MEOWS differ between hospitals and use warning thresholds for blood pressure and heart rate based on expert opinion rather than evidence. This is a version of the National Early Warning Score used across the NHS that has been adjusted to account for physiological changes during pregnancy. Most UK hospitals check individual patients’ results against a Modified Early Obstetric Warning Scores (MEOWS) to monitor women during pregnancy. This helps clinical staff make decisions about when patients need additional treatment. This is closer to a 10% rise.Īll pregnant women should have their blood pressure and heart rate monitored when they are admitted to hospital. Rather than the 20-30% increase (~15-20 beats per minute) suggested in earlier publications, newer data suggest that heart rates increase by just 7-8 beats per minute. Heart rate increases during pregnancy are also much less than previously thought. The analysis also included heart rate measures from just over 8000 women. Blood pressures are similar for those women pregnant with their first baby as for those who already have children. The steady increase in blood pressure over time since 1967 may be a result of pregnant women being older and heavier. The analysis also shows that, on average, systolic blood pressure rises very slightly through pregnancy.īlood pressure in pregnant women has increased slightly each year since 1967. This is much less of a drop than suggested in the text books. This newer and much larger analysis shows that the lower diastolic blood pressures seen mid-pregnancy are on average just 1-2 mmHg lower than the earliest measurements that were taken in about week 10. ![]() These text books are based on old data and quite small numbers of pregnant women. Traditionally, medical text books have taught students that blood pressure drops by 10-15mmHg during the middle of pregnancy. The new findings show that changes to women’s blood pressure and heart rate during pregnancy are not as striking as previously thought. New research from researchers at The University of Oxford, and published in BMC Medicine, includes much more recent data. Medical text books are based on data that is now over forty years old.
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