Did you know that if a pregnant woman has untreated sleep apnea, the risk of her delivering her baby prematurely increases?
A 2017 study conducted at the University of California San Francisco showed that women diagnosed with insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) had nearly double the risk of early premature delivery—that is, birth before 34 weeks—as compared to women without sleep disorders. A 2016 Thai study published in the journal Sleep Breath showed similar increased risk of preterm birth.
Early preterm births come with their own sets of health risks for mother and child. But what many people don’t realize is that “preemie” infants also have a higher likelihood of developing sleep apnea and sleep disordered breathing as children and adults.