ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in pregnancy; does it influence our practice?

Background: maternal hypertensive disorder is a well-known medical problem during pregnancy and is associated with morbidity and mortality. out-of-office blood pressure (bp) measurement has been widely used but the importance of detecting white coat hypertension (wch) is still a topic for debate. objectives: the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of wch in high-risk pregnant women. methods:we included 56 pregnant women with in-office higher-than-normal bp without previous history of htn to assess their bp using 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (abpm). results: the mean age of the participants was 31.61±5.42 years (n = 56) and the majority in the second or third trimesters. hypertension was detected in 55.4% using 24-hour abpm. twenty-five patients (44.6%) had wch, 60% of whom were in the third trimester. there was a significant difference in the incidence of wch between women younger than 30 and older individuals (p = 0.041). the mean age was 33.13±5.16 years in patients with true htn and 29.72±5.22 years in wch patients (p = 0.018). conclusions: the prevalence of wch in pregnancy is noteworthy. regarding its favorable outcome, this might be a heads-up to avoid unnecessary medication during pregnancy and be concise about defining htn in this population.