MEETING ABSTRACT Open Access Maternal sleep position: what do we know where do we go?

Good sleep is an essential component to health and wellbeing. It consumes one third of human existence; unhealthy sleep can severely impair the other two-thirds. An increasing amount of data now shows that poor sleep – such as sleep disordered breathing, poor sleep quality, and insomnia- has a negative impact on preg-nancy outcomes [1-5]. Indeed, over half of the most important risk factors for stillbirth, such as maternal hypertension, gestational diabetes, and fetal growth restriction, have been shown to be associated with maternal sleep disruption [1,2,6-9]. Findings from recent studies have also suggested that maternal sleep position may be a risk factor for stillbirth [10,11]. It has long been recognized that posture in late pregnancy can have a profound effect on maternal hemodynamics. Studies i