Sleep apnea is a type of health problem that makes it difficult for a person to breathe while sleeping. People who have sleep apnea have difficulty breathing and often stop breathing several times during sleep.
Sleep apnea for ordinary people is already a health problem that can be dangerous, especially for pregnant women. Research reveals that pregnant women who have sleep apnea are at higher risk of dying in hospital. Compared to pregnant women who do not have sleep apnea, the risk of pregnant women increases up to five times.
In addition, researchers at the University of South Florida also found that sleep apnea is associated with serious health conditions and can endanger the health of pregnant women and the fetus they contain. Some of the problems that can occur include heart swelling, blood clots in the lungs, and high blood pressure which can trigger eclampsia or pre-eclampsia.
These results were obtained by researchers after analyzing data from 55 million pregnant women between 1998 and 2009 in US hospitals, as reported by Healthy Living (07/05). Researchers revealed that this increased risk was caused by the stress experienced by pregnant women due to sleep apnea disorders.
This result surprised the researchers themselves. Even the lead researcher, Dr. Judette Louis, said she was surprised by the high risk of death that sleep apnea patients have during pregnancy. Previously, researchers estimated that the increased risk of death in pregnant women was due to obesity, but it turns out that sleep apnea is also one of the factors that increase the risk of death in pregnant women.
"Our research reveals that sleep apnea also affects the risk of death, whether the woman is obese or not," said Louis.
If you have sleep apnea, there's nothing wrong with checking with your doctor before you get pregnant to be aware of an increased risk of health problems. Be more careful with your health and that of the fetus so that pregnancy and childbirth run smoothly.
