Bed Rest for Hypertension is Studied

A University of Liverpool study says routine recommendations of bed rest for pregnant women with hypertension aren’t strongly supported by research.

In four studies comprising 449 women, bed rest was not shown to reduce the risk of infant death or low birth weight, although two of the studies showed some benefit for women with severe hypertension.

Despite the fact that rest is frequently prescribed by clinicians to pregnant women with hypertension, few well-designed trials have evaluated the effects of bed rest for hypertension in pregnancy, says Dr. Shireen Meher. At present, there is insufficient evidence to guide clinical practice on the effects of recommending bed rest to women with hypertension during pregnancy.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a common medical complication of pregnancy, affecting an estimated 6 percent to 8 percent of all pregnancies, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research.