Snoring During Pregnancy: What's Common and When to Ask

A Mother's Day Visit, and a New Kind of Snore

Your mother stayed the night this Mother's Day week, sharing the guest room while she is in town to help with the nursery. Over coffee, she mentions, gently, that she heard you snoring through the wall, loud enough that she almost checked on you. You laugh it off, but it sticks, because you have never been a snorer before.

Snoring during pregnancy is common, and it often shows up for the first time in the second or third trimester, catching people by surprise the way it caught you. Most of the time it is simply part of how your body is changing, though sometimes it is worth a closer look.

At Austin Sleep & Airway Health, we hear this question from expecting patients and from partners who notice it first. This guide covers why snoring during pregnancy happens, what is useful to track, and when to mention it to your OB or midwife, always alongside their care, never in place of it.

Why Do So Many Women Start Snoring During Pregnancy?

Pregnancy changes the airway itself, not just your energy or sleep schedule. Rising estrogen and progesterone can swell the lining of your nose and throat, a pattern sometimes called pregnancy rhinitis, which narrows the space air moves through each night. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute notes that hormone levels can affect the size and shape of the airway.

Increased blood volume adds to nasal tissue swelling, and weight gain, a normal part of pregnancy, can add pressure around the neck and throat. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists notes that weight gain and hormonal shifts during pregnancy can make snoring and sleep disordered breathing more likely. Fluid retention, common later in pregnancy, adds to the effect, especially when lying flat.

None of this means anything has gone wrong. It usually means your airway is adjusting to a different set of conditions, and for most people that shows up simply as snoring.

Is Snoring During Pregnancy Normal?

For most people, yes. Researchers who study sleep in pregnancy describe snoring as one of the more predictable changes, with the frequency climbing as pregnancy progresses, particularly by the third trimester. New snoring that comes and goes, or changes with your sleep position or congestion, is generally part of that ordinary pattern.

Pay closer attention to snoring that is loud and constant, snoring with pauses or choking sounds a partner notices, or snoring paired with daytime sleepiness beyond typical pregnancy fatigue. Those patterns can overlap with sleep apnea, and our guide on telling snoring apart from sleep apnea walks through the difference. Only a physician can diagnose sleep apnea, through a sleep study, never through snoring alone.

Snoring During Pregnancy and Blood Pressure: What Research Shows

This is often the real worry underneath the question. A study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that women who began snoring during pregnancy were about twice as likely to be diagnosed with gestational hypertension as women who did not snore. A more recent systematic review and meta-analysis found a similarly higher preeclampsia risk among women who snored or showed signs of sleep disordered breathing in pregnancy.

This does not mean snoring causes high blood pressure, or that every woman who snores will develop it. New snoring is useful information, the same as swelling or headaches, because your OB or midwife already tracks your blood pressure at every visit. These patterns can be missed, as our post on signs of sleep apnea in women covers.

What to Track If You're Snoring During Pregnancy

None of this requires special equipment, medication, or a product, just a little detail that turns a vague sense of snoring into something specific to bring to an appointment.

• Whether the snoring is steady, or whether it stops and restarts with a gasp or snort a partner notices.
• How you feel most mornings: rested, groggy, with a headache, or with a dry mouth.
• Your sleep position, since snoring is often louder on your back and quieter on your side.
• Any new swelling in your hands, feet, or face, separate from ordinary pregnancy swelling.

Bring these notes to your regular OB or midwife visits rather than waiting for a separate appointment. Our adult sleep and airway screening, an educational tool rather than a diagnosis, can also help put your observations into words.

When Snoring During Pregnancy Is Worth Bringing to Your OB or Midwife

Occasional, quiet snoring rarely needs its own conversation. Mention it sooner when snoring is loud and nightly, comes with gasping or breathing pauses, or shows up alongside new headaches, vision changes, unusual swelling, or daytime sleepiness beyond ordinary pregnancy tiredness.

Your OB or midwife is the right first call, since they already monitor your blood pressure and pregnancy health, and can decide whether a sleep study makes sense. An airway focused evaluation with Dr. Culotta is something many patients revisit after delivery, and any airway care during pregnancy is coordinated with your OB or midwife first.

Does Snoring During Pregnancy Go Away After Birth?

Many people find that snoring eases in the weeks and months after delivery, as fluid retention resolves, hormones shift back, and weight returns toward its prior baseline. Because snoring can have more than one cause, that improvement does not happen for everyone.

If snoring, breathing pauses, or daytime tiredness are still noticeable well into postpartum recovery, that is a reasonable time to ask about an airway evaluation. Options at that point can include oral appliance therapy, a custom device that holds the lower jaw slightly forward, alongside CPAP rather than in place of it.

How Austin Sleep & Airway Health Helps With Snoring During Pregnancy

Dr. Kacie Culotta, DMD, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and a Qualified Dentist with the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, with a practice focused on the airway itself. During pregnancy, our role is to listen, explain what is common, and coordinate with your OB or midwife rather than work around them.

An airway focused exam looks at tongue mobility and posture, palate width, bite, jaw joints, tonsil size, and nasal versus mouth breathing, plus a detailed sleep and health history. Any decision about imaging during pregnancy, including CBCT airway imaging, is made carefully and together with your OB or midwife.

When it is useful, we also work with sleep physicians on testing and with myofunctional therapists in our collaborative space, since sleep apnea is only ever diagnosed by a physician through a sleep study. As Dr. Culotta puts it, "Positive change is possible at any age. Awareness is the first step."

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it normal to snore during pregnancy?

Yes, snoring during pregnancy is common and often starts for the first time in the second or third trimester as hormone levels, blood volume, and weight shift. It usually reflects ordinary swelling in the nose and throat rather than anything more serious, though it is still worth watching for changes.

Why did I suddenly start snoring during pregnancy?

Rising hormones, increased blood volume, and weight gain can all narrow your airway, which is why snoring can appear even if you never snored before. These changes are a normal part of pregnancy for many people, not a sign that something is wrong.

Does snoring during pregnancy mean I have sleep apnea?

No, snoring alone does not mean you have sleep apnea, and only a physician can diagnose sleep apnea through a sleep study. Snoring becomes more worth discussing when it comes with gasping, breathing pauses, or daytime sleepiness that feels different from typical pregnancy fatigue.

Is snoring during pregnancy linked to high blood pressure?

Some research has found a link between new snoring during pregnancy and a higher chance of gestational hypertension or preeclampsia, though snoring does not cause these conditions on its own. That is exactly why it is worth mentioning to your OB or midwife, who is already monitoring your blood pressure at every visit.

Will my snoring go away after I have the baby?

For many people, snoring eases within weeks or months after delivery as fluid, hormones, and weight shift back toward their prior baseline, though that is not the case for everyone. If snoring or related symptoms linger well into postpartum recovery, that is a reasonable time to ask about an airway evaluation.

What can I do about snoring during pregnancy right now?

Sleeping on your side rather than your back, staying well hydrated, and propping your head up on an extra pillow can make some nights quieter for many people. Beyond that, tracking what you notice and sharing it with your OB or midwife is the most useful next step during pregnancy itself.

Where can I get help with snoring during pregnancy in Austin?

Austin Sleep & Airway Health, at 1701 Simond Ave, Suite 107A in the Mueller area, offers airway focused evaluations that coordinate with your OB or midwife and, when appropriate, your sleep physician. Call (512) 900-9715 or email hello@austinsleephealth.com; we are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

A Calm Next Step If Snoring Has You Wondering

If a family member or partner mentioned your snoring this Mother's Day week, start with your OB or midwife, since they already know your pregnancy and watch for the signs that matter. When you are ready for an airway focused conversation, now or after your baby arrives, you can schedule a visit with our team to talk through what you have noticed.