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days {178, 179] . In a study of previously normot ens i ve sub j ect.s
for example , 12% were observed to have diastolic blood
sa
pr es s ures greater than 100 mmHg during the fi rst pos t pa r t um
wee k [ 178 ] .
Ther e re mains cont r over sy as t o Whet her or not pos t­
partum hypertens i on i s not of t he same pat hogenet i c bas i s as
t he pr egn ancy-in duc ed hypertensions ( 179J. I n l i g ht o f this
controve rsy th is article in i t s discuss i on o f postpartum
hy pe r tension i n t he deve l opi ng wor ld , will also examine
pregnancy-induced hypert ension i n the region .
The re i s little information on the incidence of
pregnancy and postpartum hyper t ens ive disorders in the
developing wor ld . Until very recently i t was be Heved thilt
t hat t hese disorders r arel y occurred , s ince earl i er
r esearchers in t he s e poor communities often reported that they
saw very f ew cases in hospitals whe r e t hey worked [ 180 ,1 81].
Rece nt findings have sho wn t hat hypertensive disorders are not
infrequent and th at the e a rlie r f in d i ngs were due to t he
l esser us e of hea l t h facilities by the popu lations i n those
early periods {17G-172 ) . Although t he t rue incidence i s still
un known, as more women now seek pregnancy ca re i n t hese
regions , a clearer picture of this co ndi t io n is being gained .
Reported i ncide nce of p re-ecla mps i a in pr imi -g rav idae in
Ta nzania, Nigeria a nd Zambia were 11\, 16. 4\ an d J,8\
r espectively (182- 184) . I n Sou th Africa , the r ecor de d