Causes of Snoring During Pregnancy and It’s Treatment
Do you remember the days when you used to complain about your husband snoring at night?
Now, you are the one who snores at night and your husband is the one who might get irritated with this habit of yours. Snoring during pregnancy is not only unhealthy for your relationship, but also for you and your baby. Does, snoring lead to any complications during your pregnancy or is it’s just a phase?
The Causes of Snoring During your Pregnancy
Snoring is more common in men rather than in women. If you are a woman and have never snored in your lifetime, then things might change during your pregnancy period. Snoring starts at the early stages of pregnancy but the majority of the women experience this when their belly starts growing. Most women complain about snoring when they are in their third trimester.
Until your husband wakes you up or complains it in the morning, till then you would not be aware of your snoring habit.
Most Likely Causes of Snoring during Pregnancy are as under:
1. Gaining Weight in Pregnancy
Snoring is most common in people who are overweight, and not just during pregnancy. The reason why overweight people snore is that, weight gain weighs down the throat tissue making it narrower and more prone to producing the snoring sound. A woman who carries a baby in her stomach is likely to gain some weight during the most pleasant nine months of her life. Even if a woman is slim before pregnancy she is most likely to gain some weight during pregnancy period. This weight gain is one of the reasons why a woman snores during their pregnancy period.
2. Increased Blood Pressure
During the pregnancy, the amount of blood increases in the body of a pregnant lady, and the blood vessels also expands which leads to swollen nasal membranes. This puts more pressure on the nostrils which makes it difficult to breathe. If you are pregnant, then you would notice that it’s easy to breathe during the daytime, but at night when you sleep you start breathing from your mouth to bring the adequate airflow which leads to snoring.
3. Allergies & Cold
When you get affected by cold, the most logical and suitable decision would be to take some pill to get over the cold. There are plenty of medications available that can easily help to open that stuffy nose. But when you are pregnant, many of the counter remedies become off limit for you. Then even a small allergy or cold may cause you to snore while you sleep unless you choose to drop by your doctor and take some pregnancy-safe medicines.
4. Swollen Nasal Passages:
During pregnancy the level of estrogen increases, which leads to swelling in the mucous membranes lining the nose. The high level of estrogen may also cause you to make more mucus. Excess mucus, along with a swollen membrane drastically narrows down your nasal passage, forcing in the air when you breathe. This makes it more likely that you will snore at night times, when mucus drainage is most difficult, due to the supine position.
Do you Need to Worry About your Snoring During Pregnancy?
Most of the people or even your husband might joke around your snoring habit. But snoring during pregnancy might be a symptom of something more serious. Here is the list of some health problems associated while heavy snoring during pregnancy period.
1. Sleep Apnea:
Sleep Apnea is a very serious sleeping disorder where the patient’s breathing is interrupted while sleeping. Snoring may lead to short periods of sleep apnea. It may even harm the baby because of the oxygen deprivation in the body of the pregnant lady.
2. Preeclampsia:
Snoring can also lead to Preeclampsia, a hypertensive condition that can have serious effects on pregnant women. Preeclampsia can lead to the premature birth of the baby and in some worst-case scenarios; it can even prove to be fatal.
3. Delivery Complications:
Maternal Snoring during pregnancy has been recorded as a risk factor for adverse delivery outcomes, including increased changes of cesarean delivery and smaller for gestational age babies.
5. Gestational Diabetes:
Pregnancy snoring increases the chances of developing gestational diabetes, which can lead to further complications for mother and baby both.
Treatment and Remedies for Pregnancy Snoring
Although you might not be able to use the standard remedies for a stuffy nose that leads to snoring during pregnancy, there are some baby and pregnancy safe ways to get your snoring under control.
1. Buy Good Quality Nasal Strips:
Nasal strips are easily available in the medicine stores. It is the easiest and drug-free method to treat your snoring. The strips just open your nasal passages with just a gentle pressure and this method may give you freedom from snoring.
2. Elevate:
Try sleeping by just slightly elevating your head. In order to do so just get two pillows instead of one. It aids free airflow and helps you to sleep better.
3. Buy a Humidifier:
If nasal congestion is the cause of your snoring a humidifier will help you breathe easier. Dry air irritates the mucus lining and causes it to dry up and get inflamed, increasing the chances of snoring. Moist air helps soothe your lining and helps you breathe easier.
4. Sleep on your Side:
You might be able to reduce some snoring just by sleeping on your side. Try to sleep from the left side. This will improve blood circulation and help you sleep better.
5. Control your Eating Habits:
While you are pregnant, the doctors might suggest you gain some weight, but don’t just let yourself go! Those extra pounds might be the reason you snore at night. So, it’s better to stick to a balanced diet.
6. Avoid these:
Tobacco, Alcohol and even sleeping pills. They are neither good for your baby nor for you. These items can irritate/ relax your throat muscles; which can result in snoring.
In most cases, if the snoring is pregnancy induced, it vanishes post-delivery, and does not have any long-term effects. However chronic snoring can also be an indicator of some other problem. Snoring during pregnancy can affect both you and your baby. Therefore, you should not take any risks and consult your doctor to rule out any complications.
Author Bio-
Katherine Dilworth is a wife, mother and a blogger and she writes on caseydilworth.com, this blog provides exclusive information on Why do People Snore and Snoring Solutions.
