Gestational Sleep Apnea| Biomed Grid

Sleep apnea is a concerning condition that can be life jeopardizing and is more common than commonly perceived. An empirical description of sleep apnea was first proposed in 1965 describing the condition as a disorder in breathing pattern that is distinctive by breathing anomalies occurring in the form of short abrupt interruptions in a patient's breathing pattern throughout their sleep. The word ‘apnea' has a Greek etymological origin that is a derivative of the Greek word ‘apnous' meaning ‘breathless'. Obstructive sleep apnea is considered the most common type of sleep apnea taking place when air is impeded from flowing properly through the patient's nasal or oral cavities despite continuous attempts at breathing [1,2]. First time diagnosis of OSA in pregnancy is indicative of a condition named gestational obstructive sleep apnea. Empirical evidence has it that gestational OSA could improve or clear away altogether after delivery [3]. Two percent of middle-aged women are affected by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Moreover, the condition affects around 15-20% of obese pregnant women BMI > 40 kg.m-2. Pertinently, half of all pregnant women in the United States are either overweight or obese [4]. Pien along with colleagues found that at the two time points during pregnancy, a group of women who had undergone overnight polysomnography scored an increase from 10.5% in women with OSA in the first trimester to 26.7% in the third trimester. Causes