Sleep disturbances in pregnancy: features of diagnosis and therapy: A review

Abstract

Physiological changes during pregnancy often disrupt women's sleep. If these changes are combined with other factors (obesity, iron or magnesium deficiency, anxiety, etc.), the pregnant woman may develop sleep disorders: obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, restless legs syndrome, leg cramps, and insomnia. These disorders increase the risk of pregnancy complications, reduce the quality of a woman's life, and form the basis for somatic and mental disorders in the postpartum period. Therefore, the obstetrician has to be familiar with the phenomenology, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders in pregnant women to treat them promptly or to refer a woman to a neurologist or psychiatrist. This review briefly describes the common sleep disorders occurring in pregnant women, especially the various types of insomnia. The main groups of sedative agents are characterized, of which only doxylamine is acceptable for use in routine practice because of its proven efficacy and safety during pregnancy.

Keywords

• pregnancy
• insomnia
• doxylamine