Acute headache in pregnant and post-partum patients: A clinical review

Background: Headaches during pregnancy and the post-partum period may be due to either an exacerbation of a pre-existing neurological presentation, a new pregnancy-related process, or a non-pregnancy related condition. Key physiologic changes during pregnancy and the post-partum period contribute to the vulnerability of this patient population and the increased risk of complications.Objective of the review: Review causes of headaches in pregnant and post-partum patients as well as neuroimag-ing techniques performed.Discussion: Headaches are a common complaint for pregnant and post-partum patients. For pregnant patients, a range of serious causes must be considered including cerebral venous thrombosis, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome and stroke. Primary headaches are responsible for most post -pa rtum headaches, however other causes also include pre-clampsia, cerebral venous thrombosis and post-dur al headache. Determining the optimal imaging technique in this vulnerable population remains a challenge given the scarce guidelines.Conclusion: The greatest difficulty while evaluating pregnant and post-partum patients presenting with an acute headache in an emergency setting is to determine whether the headache is due to a primary disorder such as migraines or is secondary to an underlying, sometimes serious pathology. The following review explores evidenced-based diagnosis of headache in this particular setting.& COPY; 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.