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Maternal History of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Pregnancy

ABSTRACT Objective This study aimed to study the association between maternal history of childhood adversity and blood pressure in pregnancy. Methods A total of 127 pregnant women completed measures of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and prenatal stress between June 2015 and April 2019. At 11 weeks’ gestation (range, 6–17 weeks), we measured 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure. All women were considered to be at risk for pregnancy complications due to elevated body mass index and self-reporting snoring in pregnancy. Results Women were, on average, 30 years old (range, 19–40 years), and average (standard deviation) body mass index in this sample was 34 (7) kg/m2 (range, 27–55 kg/m2). Higher ACE scores were associated with higher nighttime blood pressure (systolic blood pressure: β = 0.23, p = .013; diastolic blood pressure: β = 0.22, p = .028). There were no significant associations between the ACE score and daytime blood pressure. Women with four or more ACEs were more likely to display nocturnal blood pressure nondipping (odds ratio = 3.97, 95% confidence interval = 1.38–11.40). Associations between ACE and nocturnal blood pressure remained significant after adjusting for symptoms of prenatal stress. Conclusions Results indicate that experiences of childhood adversity are associated with elevated nocturnal blood pressure and loss of a typical decline in blood pressure between day and night.