How Pregnancy Complicates Sleep Apnea

When you’re pregnant, it seems that everything is regulated, from your diet, to even what you use on your hair, since often the effects of it on the baby need to be considered. However, sleep is another major part that many pregnant women need to think about, since anxiety and excitement does impact this, and often, losing sleep during this time can lead to something more. There is something called sleep apnea, and it should be considered if you’re pregnant and have trouble with sleep, and something you should talk to your doctor and dentist in Santa Clarita about.

Now, sleep apnea is essentially when the tissues collapse during sleep, and that means that air flow is obstructed and you might stop breathing. This can lead to snoring, fatigue, and memory issues, but it also can lead to high blood pressure, strokes, and heart disease.

Some might have that before they get pregnant, but the symptoms are definitely still going to be there. However most don’t get diagnosed because this happens most of the time when you’re asleep, and unless you’re participating in a sleep study, it’s often gone unchecked.

However, this causes more trouble in expectant mothers. If a woman doesn’t suffer from this, they tend to. Most expectant mothers have disturbances in their sleep. The heightened estrogen levels cause a swelling of the membranes in the airway, so it’s possible that those that haven’t had sleep apnea before definitely can have some complications.

Now, the complications are a problem within itself. If you have sleep apnea, you’re definitely going to have some serious issues, but pregnancy often does add more issues to the fray as well. Sleep disordered breathing actually causes an increased risk of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, and it also increases the chances of gestational diabetes. Now, it’s also important that these issues actually can cause pulmonary embolism, cardiomyopathy, and in some cases death. That’s pretty scary, but there are other complications as well.

Sometimes, if you’re pregnant and with sleep apnea, you might need a hysterectomy after you give birth. This can also cause cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, and pulmonary edema, and you’re also nearly twice as likely to be in the ICU after you give birth, and you’ll spend way more time at the hospital. Simply put, if you don’t want to put your life in danger, or a child’s life, in danger, then you should go see your doctor and maybe even check with your dentist in Santa Clarita for some extra help. These can also help with alleviating the symptoms and also help to reduce the life-threatening risks. If you’re thinking of conceiving, definitely do check with your doctor and definitely do make sure that you have the medical clearance needed to ensure a safe, and healthy pregnancy and life for yourself, and for the baby as well.

Sleep apnea shouldn’t just be something you take care of if you’re pregnant though or about to become pregnant. All of these symptoms can be present in anyone, not just a pregnant person. It’s because the person is pregnant that the symptoms get magnified by manifold, and often, it’s part of the reason why health complications of various types happen in many people. You could end up in ICU, or even have these life-threatening risks, so if you’re worried about the fact that you might have sleep apnea, you should go see your doctor to get a full idea of what is going on in your body.

If you do have it, you want to get it treated right away. You should definitely keep an eye on any of these symptoms so that you can avoid the complications associated with it, but also to make sure that you take care of yourself and try to ensure that if there is something wrong, you go see the doctor. You owe it to yourself to definitely make sure that you’re doing what you can do to have the happiest and healthiest life that you can. Doing this, you’ll be able to keep an eye on your health as well, and prevent any complications from further ruining your life if it’s possible.