Parity and sleep patterns during and after pregnancy.
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.
Lee
K A
KA
Department of Family Health Care Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, 94143-0606, USA. kathy.lee@nursing.ucsf.edu
Zaffke
M E
ME
McEnany
G
G
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