Snoring During Pregnancy

Introduction - Snoring During Pregnancy

Snoring during pregnancy is a phenomenon that affects almost every tenth woman by the end of pregnancy. Women who already have an increased risk of snoring are particularly predestined. In particular, these are people with peculiarities of the jaw anatomy, back sleepers and especially overweight people.

As with almost all changes in pregnancy, hormones are involved in this situation.

To reassure you, however, it should be said that snoring will go away as quickly as it came.

It is advisable to first deal with the main article on snoring: Why does snoring even occur?

Causes - why snoring occurs during pregnancy

If many new phenomena during pregnancy are attributed to the changed hormone balance, this is often justified. This is also the case in this case: The hormone progesterone ensures increased water retention in all body tissues and especially in the mucous membranes. This, in turn, causes the nasal mucous membranes and the mucous membrane of the mouth and throat to swell. This leads to a narrowing of the airway. If the inhaled air makes its way past these "obstacles", the snoring noise is created.

Another reason that leads to increased snoring, especially in late pregnancy, is the increased space requirement that the unborn child has. Pregnancy displaces the internal organs from their original places. This displacement and displacement can also lead to the tongue and hyoid bone being pushed further back into the throat or the space for the inhaled air is also restricted by this circumstance.

The causes of snoring are explained in detail in detail at: Causes of Snoring

Can snoring be dangerous for my baby during pregnancy?

As a rule, the mother's snoring is not dangerous for the child. It only becomes dangerous if so-called apnea phases occur while snoring. However, not every snoring is automatically accompanied by apnea phases. These breathing pauses ensure that the oxygen reserves in the maternal blood are used up and are no longer available to the child or the placenta. Since the child does not yet have an independent oxygen supply in the womb, it is dependent on the mother's breathing.

The adequate supply of oxygen is important for the proper development of the child. Oxygen deficiency within the first few weeks is usually associated with a higher rate of complications than oxygen deficiency in the later phases of pregnancy.

Symptoms that accompany snoring during pregnancy

Snoring itself is basically just a symptom that indicates that the person's airways are narrowed or blocked for whatever reason.

Often, however, snoring is accompanied by a psychological fear that snoring could be a concern for the child or that it could make the partner unattractive if the snoring continues after the pregnancy. These - in most cases unfounded fears - often lead to stress in the expectant mother, which then affects the mood, the relationship and the recovery.

If, however, the supposed snoring is a form of sleep apnea, i.e. actual breathing pauses during sleep, it often leads to daytime sleepiness and general fatigue.Actual pauses in breathing are not to be taken lightly, as they can pose a risk to both the mother and the unborn child.

Find out what is behind sleep apnea syndrome at: Sleep Apnea Syndrome - what is it?

These home remedies can help prevent snoring during pregnancy

Home remedies that are sure to work include normal nasal decongestant drops; but not simple nasal drops that only contain table salt. These only serve to moisten the nasal mucous membranes, but do not ensure that you get better air.

If you don't want to use nasal drops that are too strong, you can simply use children's nasal sprays or drops in which the active ingredient is more diluted.

Special nasal plasters can also help. These should help to lift the nostrils and thereby reopen the airway through the nose, which is narrowed by the swollen nasal mucous membrane.

Additional information on the best ways to treat snoring can be found at:

• Snoring - what to do?
• How can you prevent snoring?

Prognosis - Will snoring go away again after pregnancy?

As a rule, snoring disappears as quickly and suddenly after pregnancy as it did. When the progesterone level in the body drops again, the water retention also decreases and the nasal and throat mucous membranes also swell again.

However, women who have snored before pregnancy have a poor chance of getting rid of snoring.

If the pregnancy has resulted in massive weight gain that does not regress in the months after the pregnancy, it may be that the weight gain can be the reason for continued snoring, as the stronger body stature causes a narrowing of the throat may result.

There may also be other reasons why snoring continues after pregnancy, read our article in order to prevent these causes: Why does it snore?