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Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Pregnancy
Lakshmy Ayyar1, Fidaa Shaib1, Kalpalatha Guntupalli1
1Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in pregnancy can present as snoring and/or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and the prevalence is increasing due to the increase in maternal obesity. Pregnant women often present with fatigue and daytime sleepiness rather than the classic symptoms. Habitual snoring, older age, chronic hypertension, and high prepregnancy body mass index are reliable indicators of increased risk for SDB and should trigger further testing. The gold standard for diagnosis of OSA is an overnight laboratory polysomnography. Although there are no studies linking SDB to poor fetal outcomes, fetal well-being remains paramount throughout the course of pregnancy.
Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in pregnancy can present as snoring and/or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and the prevalence is increasing due to the increase in maternal obesity. Pregnant women often present with fatigue and daytime sleepiness rather than the classic symptoms. Habitual snoring, older age, chronic hypertension, and high prepregnancy body mass index are reliable indicators of increased risk for SDB and should trigger further testing. The gold standard for diagnosis of OSA is an overnight laboratory polysomnography. Although there are no studies linking SDB to poor fetal outcomes, fetal well-being remains paramount throughout the course of pregnancy.
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