Abstract

Blood pressure disorders in pregnancy are common and may cause increased risk of complications or death for the mother or the infant. Women with multiple pregnancies have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure in pregnancy. This study examined a group of women delivering a multiple pregnancy in a large maternity unit, and evaluated the implications of high blood pressure in pregnancy on both the mother and the infant. This study looked at all women with twin pregnancies that delivered at Cork University Maternity Hospital between 2009 and 2017. The twin pregnancies were divided according to the presence or absence of high blood pressure in pregnancy and the two groups were compared. Maternal age of more than 40 years, first pregnancy, conceiving through use of a donor egg, and having a disorder called obstetric cholestasis are all risk factors for developing high blood pressure in pregnancy in women with a twin pregnancy. When high blood pressure in pregnancy complicates a twin pregnancy, it increases the rate of elective premature delivery and low blood sugars in the baby. This study is useful for clinicians caring for women with a twin pregnancy.