Beta-Blocker Use in First Trimester Seems Safe

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD

Use of beta-blockers in early pregnancy is not associated with significantly increased risk for congenital malformations, according to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers pooled data on 18,000 pregnancies in Scandinavia and the U.S. that resulted in live birth. All women had hypertension. Those who filled prescriptions for beta-blockers during the first trimester of pregnancy were compared with women who didn't take beta-blockers. There was no significant association between beta-blocker use and congenital malformations overall or specific types of malformations.

An editorialist notes that beta-blocker use during pregnancy is associated with intrauterine fetal growth restriction, so "fetal growth and well-being should thus be periodically assessed by ultrasonography starting in the early third trimester." In addition, "women with chronic hypertension, prepregnancy diabetes mellitus, and obesity are at higher risk for preeclampsia and should start oral aspirin therapy at a dose of 81 to 162 mg/d."