Facilitators and barriers to adopting sleep position recommendations during pregnancy

Pregnancy and childbirth are often a positive and fulfilling experiences, however for many women ill health and complications can arise. Some sleeping positions have been associated with certain complications. However, we have no evidence as to whether this link between sleep position and certain pregnancy outcomes is well known amongst the pregnant population. 

This study will help us understand what the level of awareness regarding sleep position and pregnancy outcomes is in women who have recently had a baby, and what are the supports needed to encourage women to follow recommendations.

As part of this study, we invited people to participate in an online survey which asked questions about their knowledge regarding sleep position and their own habits during their pregnancy. 

People were eligible to participate if:

• They have been pregnant at any time between June 2022 and the present time.
• Their baby was born after 28 weeks of pregnancy.
• They are 18 years old or older.
• They had their baby in Ireland.

Project status: 

Ongoing: July 2024 to June 2025. The recruitment phase closed in September 2024.

Research team:

• Dr Tamara Escañuela Sánchez
  National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Cork.
  Pregnancy Loss Research Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Cork.
• Dr Karen Matvienko-Sikar
  School of Public Health, University College Cork.
• Professor Keelin O'Donoghue,
  Pregnancy Loss Research Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Cork.
• Professor Richard Greene
  National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Cork.

Contact information

Please, contact us if you have any questions or if you would like more information about the study. You can contact Dr. Tamara Escañuela Sánchez at tamara.escanuelasanchez@ucc.ie or telephone +353 (0)21 420 5053.

Ethical approval for this study was granted by the Social Research Ethics Committee at University College Cork (Log 2024-131). If you have any concerns about this study, and wish to contact someone independent, you may contact the Social Research Ethics Committee by email: srec@ucc.ie.