Louise O’Brien

Sleep disruption and therapeutic interventions to improve sleep in pregnancy

I have unique expertise in the field of sleep and maternal/infant and child health since I have been involved in women and children’s health research (including prenatal, maternal, fetal, infant, and child health research) since 1992 and in formal sleep research since 2001. My main area of investigation is the impact of maternal sleep disruption and sleep behaviors on adverse pregnancy outcomes including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, fetal growth, and stillbirth. I also direct multiple other studies of the impact of sleep disruption in non-pregnant women, infertile women, pregnant and postpartum women, and in the health of the fetus/infant/child. I was responsible for developing collaborations between the Sleep Disorders Center and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan. These endeavors have resulted in multiple successful studies, including NIH-funded, foundation-funded, and privately-funded work. I was the first investigator in the United States to be funded by the NIH to investigate the impact of positive airway pressure treatment in pregnant women. I co-chaired the national Sleep Research Network Working Group on Sleep Apnea in Pregnancy and was the editor for a Special Issue Journal on Sleep in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period. I give multiple invited lectures on the topic of sleep in the perinatal period both nationally and internationally and have significant experience and commitment to training and mentoring the next generation of researchers.