Sleep well and do your unborn child a favour

Pregnant women in their third trimester may want to make an effort to hit the sack earlier after a new study found that poor-quality sleep in the last stretch of pregnancy might lead to adult obesity in their offspring.

Pregnant women in their third trimester may want to make an effort to hit the sack earlier after a new study found that poor-quality sleep in the last stretch of pregnancy might lead to adult obesity in their offspring.

That’s the conclusion of research from the University of Chicago, where scientists interrupted sleep patterns in pregnant mice and followed the health of their offspring.

During the third trimester of their pregnancy, scientists sent a motorised brush through their cages, forcing the animals to wake up briefly, step over the brush and try to resume their sleep. Another batch of pregnant mice was allowed to sleep uninterrupted in another cage.

Though newborns from both groups weighed roughly the same, researchers noted that their weight and health outcomes differed significantly as they grew into adults. Male mice born to sleep-disturbed mothers weighed 10 per cent more than their counterparts — the equivalent of 15 extra lb (7 kg) in a human adult.

The findings were published recently in the journal Diabetes. The results of the study may come as poor comfort to women in their third trimester, who have to deal with protruding bellies and kicking babies.

But the National Sleep Foundation in the US offers a few tips on how to prepare for a good night’s sleep.