For the last six years, Francesca Facco, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and researcher at Magee-Womens Research Institute, has been studying sleep and its impact on pregnant women and their babies.
“There’s not any great data about how much sleep a pregnant women should get,” says Dr. Facco. “That’s what I’m trying to understand. Outside of pregnancy, there is pretty strong evidence that fewer than six hours a night and sleep durations of greater than nine hours a night can have a negative impact on metabolic and cardiovascular health.”
Old wives tales abound, warning moms-to-be about what to expect in terms of sleep—or lack thereof. “There’s a lot of anecdotal advice and evidence that goes around for women about what to expect with sleep and pregnancy,” says Dr. Facco. “People say you’re not going to sleep well because your body is getting ready to be awake with the baby. There’s not a lot of science behind that. Even as doctors, we don’t know what to tell women to aim for in the terms of sleep. What should be your overall sleep goal? What problems should you look out for?”
Those are questions Dr. Facco hopes to answer with her research, helping to inform women and their physicians. One thing is for certain, though: sleep is important. For more information or to support women’s health research, visit www.mwrif.org.
(Adapted and reprinted with permission from Magee-Womens Research Institute)
