Should PAP be a Tool for the Obstetrician?

Talking Sleep

There was a recent consensus statement from the Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine and the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology on the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in pregnancy. For too many, a sleep evaluation is deferred until the pregnancy is over, with the idea that pregnancy-related sleep disorders will resolve at the end of the pregnancy. This leaves so many with sleep disorders undiagnosed and untreated. Dr. Louise O’Brien has tried to bridge this gap. She works in the Division of Sleep Medicine in the Department of Neurology, as well as the Division of Maternal and Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan. She is here to share her experience locally, but also globally when it comes to sleep health during pregnancy.