Sleep Hygiene Education Program during Pregnancy A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract Purpose: Pregnancy related psychophysiological changes are associated with the sleep alterations as the gestational week’s progress. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of sleep hygiene education programs during pregnancy. Methods: This prospective randomized controlled study based on pre-posttest after intervention consists of 30 studies and 30 control groups. Pregnant descriptive form, Beck Depression Index (BDI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) questionnaires were used. Pregnant women with a score of 15 and above according to BDI were excluded from the study due to depression. Sleep hygiene education program was given twice with an interval of 15 days to the intervention group, and as a post-test, PSQI and SHI questionnaires were conducted at the end of 1 month. Results: 90% of all pregnant women had poor sleep quality in the pre-test, and 93.3% in the post-test. In the intervention group, the pre-test PSQI score was 8.10±1.80, the post-test PSQI score was 8.37±2.05 (p<0.001). In the control group, the pre-test PSQI score was 8.23±2.54 and the post-test PSQI score was 9.77±2.54, and the worsening of sleep quality became more evident (p<0.05). While the SHI in intervention group was 16.57±5.64 in the pre-test, it was 10.30±3.78 in the post-test after sleep hygiene training (p<0.001). In the control group, the pretest SHI scores increased from 14.50±3.78 to the posttest scores of 16.60±4.36, resulting in a decline in sleep hygiene and sleep quality (p<0.05). Conclusion: As the gestational week progressed, the deterioration in sleep quality increased. The poor sleep quality improved significantly after sleep hygiene education counselling. It is recommended to add sleep-related screenings to routine pregnancy follow-ups and to provide sleep hygiene education.