Sleep apnea (apnia, apena) and pregnancy
Sleep apnea is connected to a lower blood oxygen level during sleeping (during the apnia) and this is a particular problem to pregnant women.
Pregnancy apnia
|
|
Snoring can be a problem that is not only an annoyance, but also dangerous. Snoring loudly is a symptom of sleep apena which is a fairly serious sleeping disorder. Having sleep apnea can mean that you actually will stop your breating several hundred times every night for a short moment.
In stopping and restarting your breath like this, there will be an extra burden on many organs, most noticeably the heart, and it will also lower the oxygen level in the bloodstream and brain.
Sleep apnea affects all types of patients for several known reasons such as a misformed uvula or palate, adenoids or enlarged tonsils. SA has been observed in a a slightly increased frequency in pregnant women and in males with overweight.
Pregnancy sleep apnia (apnea)
While being pregnant, especially the lowered oxygen levels can be a danger to both the fetus and the mother. Recent research has shown a link between low birthweight and SA (snoring). This research was done at the Nottingham City Hospital using close monitoring of the oxygen levels in the bloodstream of pregnant women. Low oxygen levels from sleep apnia is a known risk during pregnancy that can lead to a number of more serious diseases such as Cerebral (cerbal) palsy, lower birth weight and premature birth.