Effect of snoring on pregnant women and fetal outcomes: a cross sectional study

Snoring frequently occurs among pregnant women, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy. It often signals obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which could potentially affect pregnancy outcomes negatively. Hence, our study aimed to investigate how snoring influences the likelihood of pregnancy complications and fetal outcomes in a cohort of expectant mothers.

We enrolled pregnant women in their second and third trimesters and had them fill out a questionnaire concerning sleep-related symptoms such as snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, and frequency of nighttime awakenings, along with anthropometric measurements. Subsequently, the participants were divided into snorers and non-snorers, and the occurrence of pregnancy complications and fetal outcomes was monitored.

The study enrolled a total of 212 pregnant women, among whom 35 were identified as snorers and 177 as non-snorers during mid to late pregnancy. This indicated a snoring prevalence of 16.5% in our sample. Significant differences were noted between the two groups regarding the occurrence of oligohydramnios (11.43% vs. 2.82%, p = 0.044) and fetal distress (28.57% vs. 8.47%, p = 0.003). Logistic regression analyses revealed that snoring was independently associated with fetal distress (odds ratio [OR] = 4.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.88-13.23, p = 0.001).

Our findings suggest that habitual snoring was the independent risk factor fetal distress after adjusting for potential confounders, indicating that habitual snoring may have a detrimental effect during mid to late pregnancy.