High blood pressure during pregnancy (called hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, or HDP) can cause serious health problems for pregnant people, including life‑threatening complications known as severe maternal morbidity (SMM). There are several types of HDP, and they differ in when they start and how serious they become, but it’s not well understood how each type affects the risk of SMM. In this study, researchers looked at hospital records from more than 96,000 pregnancies in South Carolina between 2016 and 2024. They compared people with no high blood pressure to those with different types of HDP, such as chronic hypertension, pre‑eclampsia, and gestational hypertension. They also considered factors like race, smoking, insurance, and other health conditions to better understand the risks.

The study found that about 29% of pregnant individuals had some form of HDP, and these conditions were more common among Black patients and those with other health or social risk factors. All types of HDP increased the risk of serious health problems during pregnancy and childbirth, with the highest risks seen in people who had chronic hypertension combined with severe pre‑eclampsia. Even after adjusting for other health issues, most HDP types still showed higher risks. The researchers concluded that treating all HDP as the same can hide important differences in risk. Their findings can help doctors better counsel patients and make safer medical decisions. However, the study had some limitations, such as relying on hospital records and not including postpartum data.

2.	Association Between Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Severe Maternal Morbidity. Granger Howard ME, Campbell BA, Boghossian NS. Am J Obstet Gynecol. IMPACT FACTOR: 8.4 2026 Apr 15:S0002-9378(26)00196-1. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2026.04.016. Online ahead of print. PMID: 41997517