Pregnancy is accompanied by many changes in the body. One of these changes is snoring. According to research, about 14% to 53% of pregnant women snore. This is even more noticeable during the second trimester. This post focuses on snoring during pregnancy second trimester.

We shall also go into details and explain the causes of snoring and how they it can be mitigated.

Common Causes Of Snoring During Pregnancy

Snoring is caused mostly due to hormonal and physical changes in the body.

Of course, estrogen and progesterone are the hormones responsible for snoring during pregnancy second trimester. The physical change that may cause snoring is weight gain. Also, blood flow, stress, smoking and depression contribute to snoring during pregnancy.

Before we discuss how they cause snoring, let’s first understand how snoring come about.

Generally, snoring occurs when the larynx (voice box) is partially blocked, thus limiting the passage of air while sleeping. When this organ is partially blocked and you breathe heavily, it produces an unpleasant sound – snoring.

To understand it better, let’s use flute as an example. Flute is able to make the kind of sound it makes when part of the opened areas are partially blocked or obstructed.

Got it now? That’s same thing that happens when snore. Let’s now discuss in details the various causes of snoring.

Weight Gain

If you notice, people who are fat or obese tend to snore more. This is because the excess tissue around the throat compresses the airways and prevents them from breathing in and out properly. This obstruction results to snoring.

Over 50% of pregnant women gains weight during pregnancy. This causes the swelling in the airways, leaving a smaller space in the throat to pass through.

Hormone Changes

Every pregnant woman experiences hormonal changes to some degree. These changes in hormone causes a buildup of fluids in the nasal passage which reduces the space needed for air to pass through. These changes also cause nasal congestion, which can restrict breathing.

Take for example; if you have catarrh, you notice that you don’t breathe well because the mucus has obstructed the passage of air. Even without sleeping you will notice that when you try to force yourself to breathe in and out with force, it produces a snoring-like sound. That’s example of what happens when the nasal passageway is partially blocked by fluids while sleeping.

Blood Flow

In our previous blog, we discussed how blood is circulated more during pregnancy period. This increase in blood flow may lead to reduced nasal passage space, thereby causing congestion and making it harder to breathe through the nose.

Smoking And Drinking

Although, it is unclear why smoking and drinking causes snoring, however, researchers suspect it is as a result of inflammation and buildup of fluids in the upper airways that causes snoring.