Sleep position 'still-birth link'

Even among the women surveyed who lay on their right, the risk remained extremely small Continue reading the main storyRelated StoriesThe hidden pain of stillbirths UK stillbirths 'highest' in west Experts want urgent research to see if the position a woman chooses to sleep in during late pregnancy affects still-birth risk, as a study suggests a link.

The University of Auckland compared 155 women who had late still-births with 310 who had healthy pregnancies.

Sleeping on the back or right side, rather than the left, doubled the risk - but only to almost four in 1,000.

Left-side lying aids blood flow to the baby, as the mother's major blood vessels are unimpeded by a heavy womb.

The New Zealand study, published in the British Medical Journal, called for larger studies to test the findings.

Ms Daghni Rajasingam of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said: "There are many factors which are linked to still-birth including obesity, increasing maternal age, ethnicity, congenital anomalies and placental conditions. A significant number are unexplained.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteWe would like to see further research into sleep in pregnancy encouraged and funded as a matter of urgency”

End QuoteJanet Scott of the stillbirth charity Sands "This small-scale study looks at another possible factor. However, more research is needed into sleep patterns before any firm conclusions over sleeping positions can be made.

"In the meantime, women should speak to their midwives if they are concerned."

The UK has one of the highest still-birth rates in the developed world. Every year here 4,000 babies are still-born.

A third of still-births have no clear cause.

Janet Scott, of the still-birth and neonatal-death charity Sands, said: "We would like to see further research into sleep in pregnancy encouraged and funded as a matter of urgency.

"The study will require further validation before any widespread public health campaign could be justified.

"Mums want to know what they can do to reduce the chance of this happening to their baby.

"A simple message which mums could follow, which would reduce their risk of still-birth, would be very welcome."

Can getting enough sleep help you lose weight?

Is shedding weight harder while stressed or missing sleep?

People getting too little or too much sleep were less likely to lose weight in a six month study of 472 obese people.

Their report in the International Journal of Obesity showed that lower stress levels also predicted greater weight loss.

A UK sleep expert said people need to "eat less, move more and sleep well".

Approximately a quarter of adults in the UK are thought to be clinically obese, which means they have a Body Mass Index greater than 30.

Nearly 500 obese patients were recruited for the first part of a clinical trial by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in the US.

For six months they had to eat 500 fewer calories per day, exercise most days and attend group sessions.

Weight loss

The authors report that "sleep time predicted success in the weight loss programme".

People with lower stress levels at the start also lost more weight.

The researchers added: "These results suggest that early evaluation of sleep and stress levels in long-term weight management studies could potentially identify which participants might benefit from additional counselling."

Dr Neil Stanley, from the British Sleep Society, said the sleep community had been aware of this for a while, but was glad that obesity experts were taking notice.

"We've always had the eat less move more mantra. But there is a growing body of evidence that we also need to sleep well", he said.

"It's also true that if you're stressed, then you're less likely to behave, you'll sit at home feeling sorry for yourself, probably eating a chocolate bar."

Dr David Haslam, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: "It's a great idea to find predictors of who will respond to therapy, if this is a genuine one."