title: Parity and sleep patterns during and after pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe changes in women's sleep patterns from prepregnancy to postpartum.
  
  
  METHODS
  Polysomnography was done in women's homes for 2 consecutive nights. Forty-five women were studied during the follicular and luteal phases of their menstrual cycles, and 33 conceived and were studied during each trimester of pregnancy. Twenty-nine were studied at 1 and 3 months postpartum.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with prepregnant sleep characteristics, significant changes in sleep patterns were evident by 11-12 weeks' gestation, with a significant increase in total sleep time but less deep sleep and more awakening during sleep. By the third month postpartum, there was improvement in sleep characteristics; however, sleep efficiency remained significantly lower than baseline prepregnancy values.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sleep disturbance was greatest during the first postpartum month, particularly for first-time mothers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Health Care Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, 94143-0606, USA. kathy.lee@nursing.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Zaffke
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McEnany
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010298:Parity; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep; D012895:Sleep, REM; D013997:Time Factors