79% of women report that their sleep is more disturbed during pregnancy than when they were not pregnant. Experts say that many pregnant women don't sleep enough for one person, letalone two.

• Pregnant women or recently pregnant women are the most likely to report frequent insomnia symptoms (64%), followed by postmenopausal women (56%) and premenopausal women who are not pregnant (49%).
• 60% of pregnant women said their sleep was less refreshing than when they were not pregnant.
• 51% of pregnant or recently pregnant women take at least one weekday nap and
• 60% take at least one nap on the weekends, compared to 40% or less of nonpregnant women.

Note: Since pregnancy is a state of intense fetal growth and energy consumption by the mother, we recommend that all pregnant women rest or nap daily since sleep is often interrupted or limited at night.

• 7% of pregnant women, 19% of premenopausal and 24% of postmenopausal women used over-the-counter sleep aids in the past year.
• 4% of pregnant women, 8 percent of premenopausal women and 20% of postmenopausal women used prescription sleep aids during the last year.

Note: Pregnant women are less likely to use either prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids than nonpregnant women indicating that they are appropriately concerned about taking any medication while pregnant, despite the fact that they may have problems sleeping.

• Significantly more pregnant women suffer from daytime sleepiness (36%) than premenopausal women (26%) or postmenopausal (23%).
• 70% of pregnant women report sleep problems interfering with daily activities at least a few days a week, while less than 50% of nonpregnant women have this problem.

Note: Since pregnant women seem to suffer a higher percentage of sleep problems which interfere with job and personal activities, if they could sleep longer and/or nap comfortably on a regular basis, this would help their overall well-being.