Science
High blood pressure during pregnancy - how our research is helping women like Becki
When Becki Ellsmore, from Didcot in Oxfordshire, fell pregnant in 2020, she expected to “sail through”. But halfway through her pregnancy, her doctors spotted her blood pressure was dangerously high and needed to be monitored. A few days after giving birth, Becki was invited to take part in the trial, and was put into the self-monitoring group. Despite the chaos of life with a newborn, she found time to take her daily blood pressure readings. Becki, now 40, has been off her blood pressure medication for a little over a year. Becki says:
“I’ve never had any health problems before, and I’d had no symptoms at all so it was a shock when the doctors told me my blood pressure was skyrocketing. They put me on medication and started monitoring me closely, then I was hospitalised shortly before my daughter Remi was born in March 2021 as I’d developed pre-eclampsia.
“As part of the trial, I submitted my readings in the app and the researchers were able to adjust my medication accordingly. Rather than me having to call my GP surgery or make an appointment, I could send a quick e-message asking them to make the change which had already been added to my medical records by the researchers.
"It's really scary"
“Before I had Remi I didn’t know much about high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia. Having read up about the long-term effects it’s really scary, but hopefully being part of this study will have helped to reduce my risk.
"I was definitely motivated by Remi. If she chooses to have a baby one day she could end up having the same kinds of problems, but hopefully by then we’ll know much more about how to care for women with pre-eclampsia. I hope this study will lead to more women being taken care of the way I was.”
"Life-changing moment"
Dr Jamie Kitt from the University of Oxford ran the trial Becki took part in. He said:
“Having a baby is a life-changing moment, and as the baby becomes a priority, heart health is often the last thing on a new mother’s mind.
“Our earlier research identified a critical six-week window after a hypertensive pregnancy to 'reset’ a new mother’s blood pressure and reduce their risk of future heart problems. This study shows us how we can achieve this reset. As we investigate the best way to provide this care on a large scale, we hope our findings will act as a reminder to healthcare professionals and encourage them to keep a close eye on the new mothers under their care after they have been discharged from hospital.”