Sleep disturbances and modulations in inflammation: Implications for pregnancy health

When a woman becomes pregnant, there is a vast series of physiological, vascular, and psychological changes. Among the most commonly reported changes are those involving sleep. Pregnant women report that their ability to maintain sleep and acquire continuous refreshing sleep is impaired during the perinatal period as compared to the non‐pregnant period. A growing literature supports the hypothesis that disturbed sleep (which comes in many forms) during the perinatal period is associated with an increased risk of adverse maternal, delivery, and infant outcomes. Among the suggested biological pathways linking sleep and adverse outcomes are disturbances in the immune and hormonal systems. The following paper will discuss (a) the various sleep processes that are commonly disturbed during the perinatal period and the methods used to collect sleep data; (b) the evidence linking sleep to adverse outcomes; and (c) how one specific biological pathway, the immune system, likely mediates these associations. The goal of this paper is to clarify the role that sleep disturbance has during pregnancy.