Control of sodium excretion in human pregnancy.

Sodium and water retention are normal accompaniments of pregnancy achieved by many significant and complex interrelated alterations in homeostatic forces. Furthermore, potentially harmful derangements in sodium and volume control are found in women with pregnancy-associated hypertension (P-AH, preeclampsia). None of these alterations is completely understood, and many of them appear paradoxical. Recent reviews examined some of the more closely investigated facets of sodium and volume control in normal and hypertensive pregnancy. This relatively brief discussion aims to summarize the known information, update it with more recent work, and speculate on the potential significance of abnormalities in sodium homeostasis in hypertensive pregnancy.