Research Gaps Leave Doctors Guessing About Treatments For Pregnant Women
To protect a developing fetus from experimental drugs or treatments that might cause birth defects, pregnant women aren't included in many clinical trials. But that limits the safety evidence, too.
Jenna Neikirk was nearing the end of her first pregnancy when her blood pressure shot up to dangerous levels.
"I started feeling splotchy and hot, just kind of uncomfortable, so I took my blood pressure at work and it was 160 over 120," she says. Neikirk's a physical therapist in Atlanta and knew that level was alarmingly high.
She left work and walked over to her obstetrician's office, which was in the same medical complex.
"They took my blood pressure again and they decided to admit me to the hospital," Neikirk, 29, says. "So I was actually in the
