FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pregnant Black women may sleep less and wake up more often than pregnant White women, according to a new study funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Poor sleep during pregnancy is common, and it’s associated with poor outcomes in late pregnancy and after birth. Although minority groups in the United States often experience worse sleep than non-Hispanic White people, sleep disparities during pregnancy are understudied. Better understanding maternal sleep disparities—and what causes them—can help improve health outcomes for pregnant women and their children.

“Research shows poor sleep contributes to adverse maternal outcomes that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority communities,” said Maristella Lucchini, PhD, of Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “We wanted to know if sleep was a factor that contributed to racial and ethnic disparities in overall maternal health.”

Dr. Lucchini, an ECHO Program investigator, led this collaborative research effort, which is now published in Sleep.

The research team analyzed data from 2,500 pregnant participants in 14 ECHO cohorts nationwide. They found that compared to non-Hispanic white participants:

Non-Hispanic black participants reported:

• • Shorter sleep duration
  • More sleep disturbances
  • Similar sleep quality

Hispanic participants reported:

• • Longer sleep duration
  • Better sleep quality
  • Fewer sleep disturbances

Lucchini, M. et al. Racial/ethnic disparities in subjective sleep duration, sleep quality, and sleep disturbances during pregnancy: an ECHO study. Sleep. DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsac075

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About ECHO: ECHO is a nationwide research program supported by the NIH. Launched in 2016, ECHO aims to enhance the health of children for generations to come. ECHO investigators study the effects of a broad range of early environmental influences on child health and development. For more information, visit echochildren.org.

About the NIH: NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information, visit www.nih.gov.