Physicians treating pregnant patients for other medical conditions are often put in a bind due to the lack of research to inform their decision-making, according to NPR.
Here are three things to know:
1. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends pregnant women with pre-existing hypertension continue to use their usual blood pressure medications. Women who develop hypertension while pregnant can receive "emergency treatment" with some prescribed medication.
"Gestational hypertension itself is a separate condition, and we actually don't have any medications that are developed specifically for that," Catherine Spong, MD, chief of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, told NPR.
2. Pregnant women are generally excluded from medical research due to scientists and medical ethicists' concern of how experiments could pose harm to women or their fetuses.
"Pregnant women are considered a vulnerable population, so, in general, researchers aren't permitted to experiment on pregnant women," said Jacqueline Wolf, PhD, a professor of the history of medicine in the Department of Social Medicine at Athens-based Ohio University.
3. Few studies conduct a placebo drug comparison study on pregnant women or how women are affected by existing medication when they become pregnant. However, in September 2018, a federal task force studying the gaps in healthcare knowledge about pregnant and lactating women issued a 388-page report recommending pregnant women be included in studies and stating that the government should develop new drugs to treat problems related to pregnancy and breastfeeding. HHS Secretary Alex Azar will respond to the task force's recommendations by December's end and did not respond to NPR's request for comment.
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