Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Pregnancy: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder that remains underdiagnosed in pregnancy and can cause severe maternal and fetal complications. The prevalence of OSA in pregnancy had a wide variation and increases with increasing gestation. At-risk women are those with increased body mass index (BMI), increasing age, and chronic hypertension. Screening can be done by polysomnography but as it is expensive and necessitate overnight hospital stay, makes it even harder to diagnose and leads to delay in treatment. Once diagnosed, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the gold standard treatment. Early diagnosis and effective treatment can considerably improve the outcome. This review aims to discuss the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of OSA in pregnancy.