Utilizing Wearable Biosensor Technology for Monitoring Sleep Duration Patterns in Pregnancy – a Pilot Study

Background: Sleep disturbances in pregnancy are associated with adverse outcomes. Sleep monitoring in traditional laboratory settings is inconvenient and may disrupt natural sleep patterns. Modern sensor technology wearables offer a more user-friendly alternative, enabling realistic data collection through continuous measurements in the home environment. Aim: To evaluate the use of sensors in prenatal care, we measured sleep duration throughout a physiologic pregnancy. Materials and Methods: A prospective longitudinal cohort study involving 23 healthy pregnant women using sensor wrist devices to document sleep patterns during pregnancy. Data on stress (Perceived Stress Scale. PSS 10) and eight factors of well-being/emotions (anxious, stressed, tired, sensitive, unmotivated, calm, energized, and happy) were collected to evaluate potential associations with sleep. In addition to descriptive statistics with frequencies, proportions, and means ± SD, associations between sleep and emotions were evaluated using linear mixed models after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. Results: Average duration of sleep ranged between 8.42 ± 0.91 hours (gestational week 12) and 4.65 ± 1.1 hours (gestational week 40), i.e. sleep duration decreased as the pregnancy progressed. Tiredness and stress levels were high in the first trimester (scores 3.4 and 2.8), declined during the second trimester (scores 2.74 and 2.21) and increased again as the third trimester (scores 2.92 and 2.36) approached. The use of sensor wearables was well-received, allowing for high-frequency, longitudinal monitoring of sleep throughout the entire pregnancy. Conclusion: As lack of sleep can result in adverse pregnancy outcomes, wearables equipped with sensor technology prove highly beneficial in monitoring sleep to identify risk factors early in pregnancy.