Women with migraines are more prone to pregnancy complications

Featured Sponsor

Store	Link	Sample Product
UK Artful Impressions	Premiere Etsy Store

Women who experience migraine headaches before becoming pregnant may be at increased risk of pregnancy complications that could endanger their health or that of their babies, a new analysis suggests.

The Harvard-led study, published online on January 19, 2023 by Neurology, reviewed 20 years of data from the Nurses’ Health Study II, which included 30,555 pregnancies among 19,694 nurses in the United States. The researchers looked at how many women reported having been diagnosed with migraine, as well as the type of migraine. The participants also reported whether they had experienced any medical problems during the pregnancy.

Compared with women without migraines, women diagnosed with the headache disorder before pregnancy were 17% more likely to report preterm birth; 28% more likely to have high blood pressure during pregnancy; and 40% more likely to have preeclampsia, a serious complication involving high blood pressure and potential organ damage.

The findings suggest that women with migraine might benefit from more monitoring during pregnancy to avoid complications, the study authors said.

Image: © Justin Paget/Getty Images

As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of the last revision or update of all articles.

No content on this site, regardless of date, should be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your physician or other qualified physician.