BackgroundThe incidence of snoring and sleepiness is known to increase during pregnancy, and this might impact maternal health and obstetric outcome. However, the association between snoring and sleepiness during pregnancy is not fully understood. This study was aimed at investigating the development of snoring during pregnancy and prospectively assessing if there is an association between snoring and sleepiness or adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preeclampsia, mode of delivery, and fetal complications.MethodsConsecutively recruited pregnant women (n = 500) received a questionnaire concerning snoring and sleep at the 1st and 3rd trimester of pregnancy. The women who had rated their frequency of snoring at both occasions (n = 340) were divided into subgroups according to the development of snoring they reported and included in the subsequent analyses. Additional medical data were collected from the medical records.ResultsThe frequency of snoring was 7.9% in the 1st trimester and increased to 21.2% in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. The women who snored already in early pregnancy had significantly higher baseline BMI (p = 0.001) than the women who never snored, but snoring was not associated with the magnitude of weight gain during pregnancy. Snoring women were more likely to experience edema in late pregnancy than the non-snorers. Women who started to snore during pregnancy had higher Epworth Sleepiness Scores than the non snorers in both early and late pregnancy. No significant association between obstetric outcome and snoring was found.ConclusionSnoring does increase during pregnancy, and this increase is associated with sleepiness, higher BMI at the start of pregnancy and higher prevalence of edema, but not with weight gain.

Restless legs syndrome during and after pregnancy and its relation to snoring, 2012, Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, (91), 7, 850-855. which has been published in final form at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j. 1600-0412.2012 Design. Prospective study.Setting. Antenatal care clinics in the catchment area of Linköping university hospital, Sweden.Population. Five hundred consecutively recruited pregnant women. Methods. Sleep disturbances, including symptoms of restless legs syndromeand snoring was assessed with questionnaires in each trimester. A complementary questionnaire was sent three years after delivery to women experiencing RLS-symptoms during pregnancy. Main outcome measures. RLS-symptoms in relation to snoring in each trimester.Results. RLS-symptoms were reported by 17.0 % of the women in the 1 st , by 27.1 % in the 2 nd and by 29.6 % in the 3 rd trimester. Snoring in the 1 st trimester was correlated to increased prevalence of RLS in all three trimesters (p=0.003, 0.017 and 0.044). No correlation was found between RLS and anemia, parity or body mass index. Among the RLS women 31% still had symptoms three years after delivery. Fifty-eight percent of those whose symptoms had disappeared stated that this happened within one month after delivery. Conclusions

There was no increased prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea among pregnant women. One reason for this could be that the majority of the women in this study were non-obese. Neither OSA nor snoring was likely an explanation for the increased daytime sleepiness seen in the pregnant women.

BackgroundPostpartum depression is a common condition, which consequences might be harmful for both mother and child. Since sleep and depression are closely related it is possible that women who suffer from sleep related problems during pregnancy are more likely to develop depression in the postpartum period. This study aims to investigate the possible association between depressive symptoms in the postpartum period and sleep related problems during pregnancy.MethodsIn this study 293 women in the last trimester of pregnancy answered a questionnaire about symptoms of restless legs, snoring and daytime sleepiness. They also completed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The same women were screened for depressive symptoms using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) four to ten weeks after giving birth. Additional information about social data, pregnancy and delivery was received from the medical charts.ResultsWomen with postpartum depressive symptoms had higher prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness defined as ESS score ≥10 (OR 3.84, CI 1.57–9.39), and restless legs syndrome (OR 2.837 CI 1.18–6.84) in last trimester of pregnancy, when adjusted for socio-demographic factors and obstetric risk factors. No association was found between postpartum depressive symptoms and snoring.ConclusionsDepressive symptoms after childbirth are preceded by sleep related problems such as daytime sleepiness and restless legs, already during pregnancy. The results from Epworth Sleepiness Scale and a questionnaire concerning Restless Legs Syndrome completed during pregnancy might be a valuable contribution for detecting women at risk for postpartum depression, enabling preventive interventions.

BackgroundSleep disorders are known to increase in prevalence during pregnancy, and associations between disturbed sleep during pregnancy and adverse outcomes for mother and child have been reported in a number of studies. However, most of these studies were retrospective and too small to satisfactorily demonstrate the association.