Sleep Disordered Breathing in Pregnancy: an Observational Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Sleep disordered breathing in pregnancy: an observational study examining prevalence and potential mechanisms influencing maternal and offspring outcomes.
IRAS ID
245205
Contact name
Rebecca Reynolds
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Obesity is a common health problem in the United Kingdom including during pregnancy. Approximately 20% of pregnant women in Scotland are obese; this is one of the highest rates in Europe. Obese pregnant women are at an increased risk of a range of serious health complications during pregnancy and at the time of delivery. Babies born to obese women also have an increased risk of health problems compared to babies born to women of healthy weight.
There is an increasing body of evidence to suggest that breathing problems during sleep, known as sleep disordered breathing (SDB), may contribute to the risk of health complications during pregnancy. Sleep disordered breathing is more common during pregnancy as the body changes, and this is particularly the case for obese pregnant women. There is evidence that women with SDB during pregnancy have a higher risk of developing pregnancy complications including new onset of diabetes (gestational diabetes), high blood pressure, stillbirth and early delivery (known as pre-term birth). The reasons that sleep disordered breathing may contribute to an increased risk of these, and other, complications are not well understood.
Our study plans to look for evidence of SDB in a group of obese and normal weight pregnant women attending antenatal care in NHS Lothian. Each participant will complete two overnight sleep tests (known as sleep studies) at home, between 10 to 20 weeks and between 32 to 40 weeks of pregnancy, which will assess for the presence of SDB. We will also collect blood tests, sleep questionnaires and body weight measurements at these time points. Following delivery, we will collect samples of tissue and blood from the placenta and umbilical cord. We will examine these samples to try and gain more information about how SDB impacts on pregnancy.
REC name
South East Scotland REC 02
REC reference
18/SS/0067
Date of REC Opinion
30 May 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion