PREGNANCY-INDUCED HYPERTENSION: CLASSICAL CORRELATES AND AN AYURVEDIC MANAGEMENT APPROACH — AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW
Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, affect about 5% to 10% of pregnancies and remain a leading cause of maternal and perinatal death. Evidence-based obstetric care, including blood pressure monitoring, antihypertensive treatment, low-dose aspirin for high-risk women, magnesium sulphate and timely delivery, is life-saving. Ayurveda does not describe pregnancy-induced hypertension as a distinct disease, but several classical concepts bear on its features. Objective: To identify classical Ayurvedic correlates of pregnancy-induced hypertension, to examine the evidence for Ayurvedic and related interventions, and to define a safe, adjunctive role for Ayurveda within standard obstetric care. Methods: Classical texts (Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, Bhavaprakasha) were reviewed for antenatal regimen, oedema in pregnancy and Vata disorders. PubMed was searched for guidelines, reviews, meta-analyses, trials and experimental studies on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, Ayurveda, medicinal plants, yoga, diet and supplementation. Findings were synthesised narratively. Results: Oedema in pregnancy (Garbhini shotha), disturbance of Vyana vata and Rakta, and convulsive Vata disorders offer partial conceptual correlates for gestational hypertension, preeclampsia and eclampsia. Supervised exercise and yoga reduce the incidence of hypertensive disorders in randomised trials. Calcium supplementation, long recommended, has recently been questioned. Evidence for Ayurvedic herbs is limited to reviews of plausible mechanisms and laboratory studies; no controlled trial of an Ayurvedic medicine in preeclampsia was identified, and pregnancy safety data are largely absent. Conclusion: Ayurveda may contribute antenatal lifestyle guidance, yoga and stress reduction as adjuncts. Herbal antihypertensive treatment is not supported and must never delay or replace standard obstetric management.