Perinatal Sleep Health Institute

Pregnancy and postpartum are periods of vulnerability to sleep disorders such as insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea. The Henry Ford Health Perinatal Sleep Health Institute was created to better serve pregnant and postpartum individuals at HFH by improving care for sleep disorders during peripartum. The HFH Perinatal Sleep Health Institute is directed by David A Kalmbach PhD (Clinical Psychologist) and D’Angela S Pitts MD FACOG (OBGYN Physician and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist) who are world-leading experts in perinatal sleep. Our mission is to foster multidisciplinary collaboration across HFH Women’s Health Clinics, behavioral health, and sleep medicine to support research and quality enhancement initiatives to improve care for pregnant patients. In service of this mission, we bridge translation of research findings to real-world clinical practice, supporting HFH to provide cutting-edge and innovative care for moms struggling to sleep. Our research projects have been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Current Projects

INSPIRE

Over half of pregnant women experience clinical insomnia, which increases risk for maternal depression, suicidality, and impaired postpartum bonding. Emerging data support effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness-based approaches for alleviating insomnia during pregnancy, which can also benefit postpartum sleep. The INSPIRE trial evaluates the real-world effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and a mindfulness-based sleep program designed for pregnant women (Perinatal Understanding of Mindful Awareness for Sleep; PUMAS) for pregnant women with insomnia and depression.

For clinicians interested in the PUMAS manual, learn more about it and access a free download here.

For more information, email us at ResearchSleep@hfhs.org