Effect of sleep disorders on quality of life in pregnant women

Although maternity is a natural process starting with pregnancy and childbearing and lasting a lifetime, it comes with many physiological, psychological and social changes. Among these changes, sleep is an important factor as it affects quality of daily life and course of pregnancy. This descriptive study was conducted to determine sleep disorders in pregnant women and their effect on quality of life. Sample of this study consisted of 267 pregnant eligible women who presented to Ankara Keciören Training and Research Hospital Gynecology Polyclinic from June 1, 2014 to July 30, 2014. Three data collections instruments were used in this study. These instruments were "Personal Information Form", the "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)" and the "SF-36 Quality of Life Survey". Mean age of pregnant women in this study was determined to be 27.5 ± 4.9 years and more than half of the women (68.5%) had a sleep disorder. Women of advanced age, primipar, those with a low income level, obese women, those who have gained 16 kg or more throughout their pregnancy, smokers and women in the last trimester were found to have poorer sleep quality (p<0.05). Mean scores of women obtained from the SF-36 Quality of Life Survey were 36.9 ± 14.6 in physical functioning, 21.6 ± 20.5 in physical role functioning, 33.8 ± 18.5 in bodily pain, 35.3 ± 9.5 in general health perceptions, 34.1 ± 15.3 in vitality, 34.6 ± 14.7 in social role functioning, 25.3 ± 20.0 in emotional role functioning, and 36.3 ± 10.4 in mental health. Accordingly, quality of life among pregnant women was below average, which was found to be associated with education, family type, weight gained in pregnancy, pregnancy week, smoking and having sleep problems (p<0.05). As a result of the study, approximately two third of pregnant women were determined to have poor sleep quality and it was associated with many factors related pregnancy, which affects quality of life adversely. Consequently, all healthcare professionals, particularly midwives and nurses, have an important role in minimizing the sleep problems of pregnant women and improving their quality of life. Keywords: Pregnant women, sleep disorder, sleep quality, quality of life.