Women who begin snoring during pregnancy are at strong risk for high blood pressure and preeclampsia, according to research from the University of Michigan. The research, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, showed pregnancy-onset snoring was strongly linked to gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, says lead author Louise O’Brien, Ph.D., associate professor in U-M’s Sleep Disorders Center. “We found that frequent snoring was playing a role in high blood pressure problems, even after we had accounted for other known risk factors,” says O’Brien. “And we already know that high blood pressure in pregnancy, particularly preeclampsia, is associated with smaller babies, higher risks of pre-term birth or babies ending up in the ICU.”
