NuMoM2b Sleep-Disordered Breathing study: objectives and methods

The objective of the Sleep Disordered Breathing substudy of the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study Monitoring Mothers-to-be (nuMoM2b) is to determine whether sleep disordered breathing during pregnancy is a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes.

NuMoM2b is a prospective cohort study of 10,037 nulliparous women with singleton gestations that was conducted across 8 sites with a central Data Coordinating and Analysis Center. The Sleep Disordered Breathing substudy recruited 3702 women from the cohort to undergo objective, overnight in-home assessments of sleep disordered breathing. A standardized level 3 home sleep test was performed between 6(0)-15(0) weeks' gestation (visit 1) and again between 22(0)-31(0) weeks' gestation (visit 3). Scoring of tests was conducted by a central Sleep Reading Center. Participants and their health care providers were notified if test results met "urgent referral" criteria that were based on threshold levels of apnea hypopnea indices, oxygen saturation levels, or electrocardiogram abnormalities but were not notified of test results otherwise. The primary pregnancy outcomes to be analyzed in relation to maternal sleep disordered breathing are preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus, fetal growth restriction, and preterm birth.

Objective data were obtained at visit 1 on 3261 women, which was 88.1% of the studies that were attempted and at visit 3 on 2511 women, which was 87.6% of the studies that were attempted. Basic characteristics of the substudy cohort are reported in this methods article.

The substudy was designed to address important questions regarding the relationship of sleep-disordered breathing on the risk of preeclampsia and other outcomes of relevance to maternal and child health.