title: Health-care utilisation amongst pregnant women who experience sleeping problems and/or tiredness or fatigue: secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey of 1835 pregnant women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sleeping problems and fatigue in pregnancy are often accepted as a normal part of pregnancy; however, these conditions can be linked to serious consequences for both the mother and child. Despite established links between sleeping disturbance and a wide range of pregnancy complications, little is known about the health-care utilisation of women experiencing sleeping problems and fatigue. This study addresses the existing gap in the literature by examining cross-sectional data to identify health service utilisation patterns of pregnant women experiencing sleeping problems and/or tiredness or fatigue.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2010, a sub-study of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health was conducted as a cross-sectional survey of 2445 women who had recently given birth. Associations between reported symptoms of sleeplessness and/or tiredness or fatigue and health service utilisation were determined using logistic regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During their pregnancy, 15.2 % of women experienced sleeping problems while 35.4 % experienced tiredness or fatigue. Women most commonly consulted with an obstetrician (n = 96) or a general practitioner (GP) (n = 74) for their tiredness or fatigue rather than a midwife (n = 56). A substantial number of women sought help from a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioner for sleeping problems (33 %) or tiredness/fatigue (28 %).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sleeping problems and/or tiredness or fatigue is reported by a reasonable percentage of pregnant women, and women obtain assistance from conventional and CAM practitioners for their symptoms, but not all seek help. Given the serious implications of untreated sleep- and fatigue-related symptoms for mother and baby, this area of research deserves and requires more attention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal and Integrative Medicine, Kliniken Essen Mitte, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Knappschafts-Krakenhaus, Essen, Germany.|Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Romy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lauche
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Frankston, VIC, Australia.|Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia. amie.steel@uts.edu.au.|Office of Research, Endeavour College of Natural Health, Fortitude Valley, QLD, Australia. amie.steel@uts.edu.au.
authors.forename: Amie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steel
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Broom
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sibbritt
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice; D006801:Humans; D008880:Midwifery; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Complementary therapies; Fatigue; Pregnancy; Sleep initiation and maintenance disorders