You are warmly invited to take part in a pregnancy-sleep study being researched by the Doctors and Midwives at the University of Auckland.
Mothers helping Mothers
We are interested in ALL women at 34-38 weeks gestation, but especially if:
- Known small-for-dates / growth restricted baby
- Women who feel faint when lying flat
- Larger women (eg a pre-pregnancy BMI over 30)
- Suspected reduced Fetal Movements (even with a reassuring CTG)
SLEEP
Sleep is of course important to all health and wellbeing.
In pregnancy sleep can often be disrupted, especially during the last trimester.
Our study aims to investigate the effects of your body positions during sleep, including measuring your breathing and the baby’s activity.
The importance of sleep to the mother and her baby’s health in late pregnancy is being increasingly recognized as an area that needs further investigative study, to gain an even greater understanding of the maternal-fetal physiology.
There is evidence that suggests sleeping on the left-hand side in late pregnancy may protect against stillbirth—but medical science needs to know more.
We are asking women to volunteer to one overnight of monitoring your respirations and your baby’s heartrate patterns.
We anticipate the complete study’s final results could be groundbreaking.
What your participation involves:
- You will receive an information sheet and consent form, and you are very welcome to ask any questions.
- Some participants will be invited to visit our Clinical Physiology Laboratory in Greenlane to have a short postural hypotension study.
- Some participants will be invited to undergo an advanced MRI scan (fully safe in pregnancy) at Auckland Hospital.
- A researcher from the University of Auckland will come to your home one evening and do the set-up for monitoring your sleep. This will involve fitting a variety of measuring devices to your head, chest and abdomen to measure your sleep patterns, and the heart rate for both you and your baby. (This equipment is portable so you will be able to move around and get in and out of bed.)
- The next day the researcher will return to collect the equipment.
Woman who cannot participate:
- Twins/triplets pregnancy
- Women with high blood pressure
- Women with diabetes
HDEC Ethics Approval 16/STH/18 & 15/NTB/144 & 16/NTB/68 & 17/STH/24
To ask further questions about this groundbreaking Research Study, please contact the Principal Investigators:
PROFESSOR ED MITCHELL
University of Auckland—Paediatrics Dept
Tel 09-9236431
Email: e.mitchell@auckland.ac.nz
Or
PROFESSOR PETER STONE
University of Auckland—Obstetrics/Gynae Dept
Tel 09-9239480
Email: p.stone@auckland.ac.nz
To receive the further participant information and/or to book to participate please contact:
KATHY FRAY
Research Midwife
University of Auckland—Obstetrics/Gynae Dept
Tel 027-4364750
Email: k.fray@auckland.ac.nz
Or
DR SONJA WOODALL
Project Manager
University of Auckland—Paediatrics Dept
Tel 021-0490504
Email: s.woodall@auckland.ac.nz