If you are pregnant, snoring, older age and obesity can put you at risk for sleep apnea, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). They completed a study that appeared in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology to look further into this connection and how risky it is for sleep apnea and pregnant women.

What are the risk factors?

An earlier study of first-time pregnancies found that sleep apnea increases a woman’s risk for hypertension and gestational diabetes. However, there are currently no medical guidelines or treatment recommendations available for sleep apnea during pregnancy. NIH’s current study, though, supports a look at treatment options for pregnancy-related sleep apnea. And, based on these results, they are planning a larger study to look deeper into this subject.

Researchers found that almost four percent of more than 3,000 women in early pregnancy and more than eight percent of over 2,500 women in mid-pregnancy had sleep apnea. The risk factors for having this condition included frequent snoring, older maternal age and being overweight as determined by body mass index (BMI).

Each woman’s risk will vary depending on their individual characteristics. However, the researchers in this study created a calculator using maternal age, BMI and snoring frequency to arrive at the woman’s probability of sleep apnea in early and mid-pregnancy.

Treating sleep apnea during pregnancy

Of course one option  available is the use of CPAP therapy. However, it is not currently known if this type of treatment during pregnancy will prevent hypertension, diabetes or other complications of sleep apnea. We can also turn to oral appliance therapy to help improve sleep apnea symptoms and potentially improve the woman’s health and well-being during pregnancy.