NCHS: High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy Jumped 73% Since 2016

One in ten mothers who gave birth in the United States last year had high blood pressure during pregnancy. Eight years earlier, that number was closer to one in seventeen. A new federal report confirms the shift is real, not a statistical blip. Gestational hypertension rates climbed 73% between 2016 and 2024, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. What changed enough to push that number up so sharply?

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The Rate Rose 73% in Just Eight Years

The federal numbers behind this trend are hard to argue with. The National Center for Health Statistics found the rate of gestational hypertension rose from 6.0% of births in 2016 to 10.4% in 2024, a 73% increase over eight years. In raw terms, cases climbed from about 236,000 to roughly 377,000, even as the total number of US births actually declined slightly during that same period.

This Isn’t Just a Number on a Chart

High blood pressure during pregnancy is not just an inconvenient diagnosis, it carries real medical weight. Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy rank among the leading causes of maternal illness and death in the United States. For mothers, risks include organ damage and a higher chance of cardiovascular disease later in life. For babies, the same condition raises the risk of stillbirth, preterm birth and low birthweight.

Every State, Every Age Group, Every Background

This was not a spike limited to one group or region. The rate of gestational hypertension increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It also rose across every maternal race and ethnicity group, every age category, and every body mass index tier the report tracked. That kind of universal increase makes it hard to blame any single demographic shift for the overall trend.

The Sharpest Jumps Showed Up in Unexpected Places

Some of the sharpest increases showed up in groups nobody expected to see them in. Underweight mothers, a group not typically associated with hypertension risk, saw their rate jump 104%, the largest percentage increase of any BMI category. Asian mothers had the lowest overall rate in 2024, yet their rate more than doubled since 2016, rising 103%. The steepest relative jumps did not follow the pattern researchers might have guessed.

“A Substantial Rise,” One Doctor Confirms

Doctors outside the report itself have echoed just how significant this shift actually looks in practice. According to Dr. Elizabeth Cherot, an obstetrician gynecologist who reviewed the findings, the numbers mark “a substantial rise.” That kind of blunt characterization from a practicing physician adds real world weight to what could otherwise read as an abstract statistical trend buried inside a federal government report.

Where You Live Shaped How Hard This Trend Hit

Where a mother lived mattered quite a bit in how sharply this trend hit. State level increases ranged from 21% in Idaho to a striking 144% in Hawaii. Eight states, including California, Colorado, Virginia and Massachusetts, saw increases of 100% or more. By 2024, rates themselves ranged widely too, from 6.9% in New Jersey up to 14.6% in Louisiana, the highest of any state measured.

Even the Report’s Author Can’t Fully Explain Why

Even the report’s own author cannot fully explain why this is happening. The data clearly shows gestational hypertension is rising, but it does not identify a specific cause behind the trend. Some researchers are now exploring whether environmental exposures, including pollution and microplastics, might play a role in rising chronic health issues during pregnancy, though that remains an early hypothesis rather than a confirmed explanation.

The Real Number May Actually Be Higher

This report likely understates the true scope of the problem rather than overstating it. The 73% figure only covers gestational hypertension diagnosed during pregnancy, excluding a separate and also rising category of chronic hypertension that existed before pregnancy began. Researchers also note that birth certificate data tends to underreport hypertension diagnoses, meaning the real rate may be higher than official numbers currently show.

Medical Guidance Is Already Catching Up to the Data

Medical guidance has already started shifting in response to trends like this one. A 2023 task force recommendation now calls for regular blood pressure checks throughout pregnancy, building on earlier calls for earlier identification and better management of the condition. Against a backdrop of US maternal mortality rates that already exceed most peer nations, catching rising blood pressure early has become less of a suggestion and more of a genuine priority.