Pregnancy Insomnia — Why Good Sleep Matters and What You Can Do to Help.
Sleep issues during pregnancy deserves attention and solutions. New research provides both. Join the study!
Insomnia during pregnancy might win as the cruelest joke ever played on a person building another person. And it’s common — over 50% of pregnant women experience insomnia and over 75% of pregnant women report problems with sleep. But instead of casting aside sleep trouble as one more thing to deal with during pregnancy, new research suggests that it might hold the key to understanding a mystery that continues to plague the medical community: preterm birth.
A new study found that insomnia contributes to an increased risk for preterm birth. Of the three million records analyzed by our partners at the UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative, 14.6% of women with diagnosed insomnia gave birth to premature babies (born before week 37) while less than 11% of the normal population had the same birth outcome.
With preterm birth reaching epidemic proportions, understanding and addressing the factors that contribute to preterm birth risk is a critical step towards improving birth outcomes.
Can we decrease preterm birth and improve birth outcomes by improving sleep?
This question is next on Dr. Felder’s list:
“Unfortunately, there is not much research on how to improve sleep during pregnancy, and whether improving sleep also improves birth outcomes. This is what we are now studying in the Research on Expecting moms and Sleep Therapy (REST) Study. We want to find out whether an online version of cognitive behavior therapy is effective for insomnia during pregnancy.”
The online cognitive behavior therapy program, called Sleepio, has demonstrated effectiveness for a range of patients experiencing insomnia, but it has not yet been studied with pregnant women. It involves six weekly sessions that can be completed anytime, anywhere.
Dr. Felder’s study does not employ medication, which have not been well-studied during pregnancy and are often avoided by pregnant women.
Where you come in — Sign up or spread the word!
Dr. Felder is looking for more participants in her study. There are no in-person study visits, so women can participate from anywhere!
Participants will get free access to the evidence based online program designed to improve sleep plus up to $60 in gift cards.
That’s right, baby bump sporting friend, you can get better sleep and rest peacefully knowing that you contributed to the future of prenatal care. We’d call that a win-win!
To find out if you are eligible, click below to take their 15-minute online screener.
Join the prenatal health revolution! Follow us here or visit us at bloomlife.com.
