An obstetrician, Habiba Ismail, has expressed concern over the rising cases of high blood pressure in pregnancy in Bauchi.

She said this in an interview on Wednesday in Bauchi.

In medical parlance, HBP, also called hypertension, means the force of blood pushing against artery walls is consistently too high.

Hypertension in pregnancy is defined as having a blood pressure reading between 140/90 and 159/109mmHg (millimetres of mercury). This means blood pressure may need to be checked regularly, but it does not always need treatment.

Severe hypertension in pregnancy is defined as having a blood pressure reading of 160/110mmHg or higher. This will require treatment until the readings are below 160/110mmHg.

According to Ismail, the trend leads to eclampsia and other pregnancy-related complications.

She noted that statistics indicated that the high rate of hypertension in pregnancy remained persistent and required more investigation and interventions.

“Several studies have been conducted to ascertain the reason behind the rising cases of HBP among pregnant women in the state.

“To date, we have yet to identify the root cause of this condition.

“Sometimes, HBP is diagnosed early in pregnancy, even among young girls, aged 18 years and below,” she said.

Ms Ismail said that many pregnant women still experience HBP and related complications in spite of adherence to medical guidelines.

She therefore urged husbands and caregivers to ensure that pregnant women strictly followed their antenatal routines, took prescribed medications and attended regular medical check-ups.

(NAN)