How to manage and treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea during pregnancy?

Breathing patterns might change during pregnancy, there might be a progression in snoring ranging from mild to loud. You are more likely to face disruption in your breathing patterns while sleeping, known as Sleep Apnea. Now, let’s discover how Obstructive Sleep Apnea might affect you if you’re expecting or someone you know is about to deliver-

Let’s first have detailed information about Obstructive Sleep Apnea. 

What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea? 

Sleep Apnea is a severe sleeping disorder that causes breathing disruptions while sleeping. These breathing pauses might last from one minute to an hour at least. People who have mild Sleep Apnea, undergo at least fourteen sleep Apnea episodes in an hour. Some go through moderate Sleep Apnea episodes fifteen to twenty-nine episodes a day and those who have a severe condition go through sleep Apnea episodes at least thirty times in an hour. 

Sleep Apnea often comes with snoring as an underlying condition. Snoring gets louder near the time when airflow stops. After a few seconds, you might go through a loud choking or gasping. Usually, people who have Sleep Apnea don’t remember what they have gone through. However, their quality of sleep gets affected greatly. 

Risk Factors for Pregnant women 

Typically, the severity and frequency of snoring increases during pregnancy. Therefore, when a pregnant woman suffers from sleep Apnea, the situation gets worse. Sleep Apnea occurs while a person faces pauses in breathing that lasts for at least ten seconds which is often associated with Arousals. It also results in the drop of oxygen levels known as desaturations. Sleep Apnea might also have significant consequences and there is some woman who is at higher risk of developing the condition. 

Fortunately, the overall risk of developing sleep Apnea during pregnancy is relatively low, due to a couple of factors: first, levels of progesterone are high during pregnancy. A protective state, since the hormone activates muscles that dilate the airway. Also, this hormone known as progesterone boosts the responsiveness of the brain to CO2 levels, also the delivery of oxygen to the body’s tissues improves with increased heart rate and enlargement of the peripheral blood vessels. Secondly, pregnancy is associated with discomfort, and sleeping on the back for a long time can lead to such a situation. 

Sleep Apnea might not occur. Sleep Apnea may nevertheless occur. Although the precise prevalence is not known, it's estimated to affect ten percent of pregnant women. Women are more likely to get Sleep Apnea who already has over-weight or obese. Weight-gain might also increase the risks during pregnancy. Furthermore, nasal congestion can also become the contributing factor caused by progesterone. 

The volume in the lungs might be decreased due to pressure exerted from the developing embryo which ultimately increases breathing ranges. Over usage of smokes also makes you prone to the risk factor for developing a disorder known as Sleep Apnea.