| Are you pregnant and have been snoring lately? | | | | during pregnancy is more common in women who |
| You could already be suffering from sleep apnea. | | | | have put on more of the ideal weight. 14% of the |
| Pregnancy takes a woman to scores of emotional | | | | women who snored had pregnancy-induced |
| and physical changes, which is primarily caused by | | | | hypertension. 52% of the pregnant women who |
| hormonal changes - with estrogen being the | | | | habitually snored experienced edema (swelling) of |
| dominant hormone during pregnancy. Increase in | | | | the face, hands, legs, and feet compared to 30% |
| estrogen reportedly makes the neck muscles to | | | | who didn't snore. |
| relax and compounded with the accumulated fats | | | | Meanwhile, oxygen deprivation in patients with |
| around the neck area cause snoring. Snoring | | | | sleep apnea has been correlated with growth |
| during pregnancy usually occurs in the last four | | | | retardation of the fetus and sometimes, death. If |
| weeks of gestation (this accounts to 30% of | | | | excessive snoring during pregnancy occurs, a |
| pregnant women). This is normal and a preferred | | | | physician's advice needs to be sought because the |
| sleeping position like sleeping on the sides usually | | | | condition could be devastating to the mother and |
| alters this. Most pregnant women feel more | | | | unborn child. Infants born to mothers who were |
| relaxed when sleeping on their sides to avoid the | | | | snoring during pregnancy frequently had lower |
| weight of their bellies especially during the third | | | | birth weight and Apgar scores (a test taken |
| trimester. | | | | immediately after a baby is born regarding heart |
| For excessive or chronic snoring, it may be a sign | | | | rate, breathing, reflex, muscle tone, and skin |
| of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is characterized by a | | | | color). From this study, although the causes of |
| pause in breathing for about 10 seconds resulting | | | | preemclampsia are unknown, there seems to be |
| to oxygen-deprivation and further complicates to | | | | a correlation between snoring, preeclampsia, and |
| preemclampsia. Preeclampsia is a condition that | | | | to babies with lower birth weights. |
| only happens during pregnancy and is associated | | | | An expectant woman's condition is crucial to the |
| with high blood pressure, proteinuria (protein | | | | development of the unborn child in same manner |
| present in urine), and swelling. Patients with | | | | that a pregnant woman also needs to take care |
| preemclampsia may have any or all of the | | | | of her well-being. Snoring during pregnancy is a |
| following symptoms: sleepiness during daytime, | | | | sign of or could lead to poor physical health which |
| headaches, blurred vision, abnormalities in liver | | | | could be harmful to the mother and baby. It is |
| function and vomiting. If only one of these | | | | important that a pregnant woman undergoes |
| symptoms occur, it is not a sign of preeclampsia. | | | | regular pre-natal checkups and reports any |
| Consequently, a study found out that snoring | | | | physical complaints to a physician. |