Arterial hypertension (HT) affects 1–5 of pregnant women worldwide, with a rising prevalence due to increasing maternal age, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Pregnancies complicated by HT increase the risk of superimposed preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction (FGR), preterm delivery, and perinatal death. So far, there is scarce information available on placental development and function in severe HT animal models such as the Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHRSP) strain. Thus, the present study was conducted in order to characterize pregnancy in the SHRSP focusing on the impact of blood pressure changes on placental development and fetal growth.