Migraines in Pregnancy Tied to Worse Outcomes for Mother, Baby

FRIDAY, May 24, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Migraines in pregnant women are associated with an increased risk for pregnancy-associated hypertension disorders as well as an increased risk for a variety of adverse outcomes in the newborn, according to a study published online May 8 in Headache.

Nils Skajaa, from Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, and colleagues used Danish population registries (2005 to 2012) to evaluate associations between maternal migraine and risks for adverse pregnancy outcomes in the mother as well as birth, neonatal, and postnatal outcomes in the offspring. Analysis included 22,841 pregnancies among women with migraine and 228,324 matched pregnancies among women without migraine.

The researchers found that migraine was associated with an increased risk for pregnancy-associated hypertension disorders (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 1.50) and miscarriage (aPR, 1.10). There was an association between migraine and increased prevalence of low birth weight (aPR, 1.14), preterm birth (aPR, 1.21), and cesarean delivery (aPR, 1.20). No association was seen for small for gestational age among offspring (aPR, 0.94; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.88 to 0.99) or for birth defects (aPR, 1.01; 95 percent CI, 0.93 to 1.09). Offspring prenatally exposed to maternal migraine had elevated risks for intensive care unit admission (adjusted risk ratio [aRR], 1.22), hospitalization (aRR, 1.12), dispensed prescriptions (aRR, 1.34), respiratory distress syndrome (aRR, 1.20), and febrile seizures (aRR, 1.27). There was no association between prenatal exposure to maternal migraine and offspring death (aRR, 0.67; 95 percent CI, 0.43 to 1.04) or cerebral palsy (aRR, 1.00; 95 percent CI, 0.51 to 1.94).

“Accumulating evidence shows that migraine in pregnancy may lead to several adverse outcomes in the mother and child, but treatment may alleviate these risks,” Skajaa said in a statement.

Two authors are employees of Amgen, which funded the study.

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