Blood pressure drugs given to pregnant women may harm baby’s development

COMMON drugs used to treat high blood pressure in pregnancy may affect a baby’s development, although more research is needed, experts said yesterday.

The medicines labetalol and methyldopa are sometimes given to women suffering high blood pressure, including mild to moderate cases.

Experts in the Netherlands examined 4,000 patient records from 12 hospitals for the study, which also involved following 202 children.