When you get pregnant, and your baby bump starts growing, you literally start wrestling in your bed every night in the bid to get some comfortable sleep. To be unfortunate, your normal sleeping positions won’t work anymore when you are pregnant and you will have to find the best sleeping positions for yourself. Wondering why you may have to switch to a new position to have comfortable sleep at night?
Well, there can be lots of contributing factors to the new discomfort you are facing and finding a new perfect position will become inevitable as your baby bump grows bigger.
Why All The Discomfort With Your Regular Sleeping Positions?
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As mentioned above, there can be a lot of different factors that may contribute to your unrest during the nights. Actually, when you get pregnant, your body undergoes a range of different changes and they can disrupt your regular sleeping patterns. Some of the common reasons behind sleeping discomfort in pregnancy can include:
- Bigger abdomen size
- Back Pain
- Breath Shortness
- Heartburn
- Insomnia
Despite all these common problems affecting your sleep, this is the time when you need proper sleep during the nights more than ever. So, you need to figure out the best sleeping position for pregnant woman and see what works the best for you. Of course, it may not be easy to find a perfect sleeping position for you, as sleeping in your favorite positions (on your back and the stomach) may not be the right choice in pregnancy. So, let’s try to find out what’s the best sleeping position for pregnant women.
Common Sleep Positions – How They Affect You And Your Baby
There are multiple sleep positions that women are prone to adopt in pregnancy. Here we have a look at them and how they affect the mother and the baby.
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Sleeping On The Stomach
If you have always preferred sleeping tummy-down, that is just fine as long as your tummy doesn’t grow bigger than a watermelon. However, after that you will have to change your sleeping position. Obviously, you can’t put pressure on your growing baby.
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Sleeping On The Back
According to experts, you shouldn’t sleep on the back when you are pregnant, especially when you are in your second or third trimester. When you are sleeping in this position, the weight of your growing uterus as well as the bay rests on the back, the vena cava, and your intestines. Due to this pressure, the backaches as well as hemorrhoids can be aggravated making digestion not as effective.
Besides, it can impact circulation, and can also lead to hypotension making you feel dizzy. When your body doesn’t have optimum blood circulation, it can also reduce the flow of blood to the developing fetus and, eventually, your baby gets less nutrients and oxygen.
Lying on your back once every few weeks may not be problematic, but doing it regularly for longer periods can cause issues.
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Sleeping On The Side
What is the best sleeping position during pregnancy? “SOS” (Sleeping on Side). You will feel lot more comfortable with sleeping on side “SOS“
When you are in your second or third trimester, it is ideal to sleep on your side – preferably left side. In this position, there is maximum flow of nutrients and blood to the placenta and it also helps enhance your kidney function which results in better waste elimination causing your hands, ankles, and feet not to swell much.
What’s The Best Sleeping Positions For Pregnant Women?
As mentioned above, the safest and the best sleeping position for pregnant women after their first trimester is on the left side. It helps with optimal circulation of blood and hence ensures that you have a healthy pregnancy.
Tips To Improve Your Sleeping Comfort
So, what if you are not in a habit of sleeping on a side? Or what if you have always slept on your side but the growing belly is causing the discomfort and you’re not able to rest as you should? Well, there are a few things that you can try out for taking care of your pregnancy-related sleep issues and enjoy a comfortable sleeping experience while lying on your left side. Here are a few options to consider:
- Use Multiple Pillows: Try to cross one of your legs over the other while putting a pillow in between. At the same time put another pillow behind the back – or try some other combination which helps you get better sleep.
- Buy A Special Pregnancy Pillow: If you need extra support in pregnancy, it is a good idea to use a wedge pillow. Another option could be full-body pillow that gives you full-body support and makes pregnancy comfortable.
- Prop Up: In case, if the pillows aren’t helping you through your pregnancy, it would be a good idea to sleep in a recliner semi-upright position. Replacing your regular bed with a recliner can give added comfort.
Remember that some discomfort is common in pregnancy, at least for some nights or even few weeks. So, there is nothing to panic and your body will probably adjust to its new sleeping position pretty soon. Still, the best sleeping position for pregnant women is lying on the left side. And, if you are not comfortable with that initially, you can always use comforting pillows and other supporting gear to ensure that you get enough sleep every night. As a result, you can expect less complications and a healthy pregnancy overall.
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