Diagnosis and Treatment of Headache in Pregnancy

This is a scholarly review of headache and pregnancy, including primary headache that continues during pregnancy and atypical headache or headache that occurs for the first time during pregnancy.

The review begins with a concise yet thorough examination of migraine pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapy both during and outside of pregnancy. The authors provide a well-referenced discussion of the modulating effects of ovarian hormones on migraine pathophysiology. They summarize, in text and table form, 14 clinical studies of the natural history of migraine during pregnancy. The authors note that the wide variation in findings between studies does not allow accurate prognostication of headache course or of pregnancy outcomes and complications…