My Pregnancy Care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Combined self-monitoring for hypertensive pregnancy: A feasibility trial
IRAS ID
333984
Contact name
Katherine Tucker
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Currently, 1 in 20 pregnancies occurs in a woman who has longstanding hypertension, for which they are usually taking medication to control. If a pregnant woman has longstanding high blood pressure, there is a 1 in 4 chance that she will develop pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a serious condition which is diagnosed by a rising blood pressure and protein in the urine. Currently, pregnant women with hypertension have frequent clinic appointments for monitoring, and to make any changes needed to their blood pressure medications. Early detection of rising blood pressure and / or protein in the urine can reduce the risk of future complications for mother and baby.
There have been recent trials investigating the use of self-monitoring of blood pressure in pregnancy, where women check their blood pressure readings daily at home, and use these to guide their management. These have been shown self-monitoring to be safe, cost-effective and well-received by participants, but more research is needed into how to use it to improve outcomes. This study will ask participants to self-monitor their blood pressure daily, test their urine weekly for protein, and submit these readings into a mobile phone app. Via the app, their healthcare team will be able to recommend if an increase in their medication is needed based on their readings, or if a clinical review is required, with the aim that earlier detection of changes will improve outcomes. This study is to assess the feasibility of this process, before the development of larger scale clinical trials to investigate the impact on outcomes.REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/EE/0045
Date of REC Opinion
19 Mar 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion