Sleep & Health

What Are The Best Sleeping Positions During Pregnancy?

Pregnancy is a remarkable time in a woman's life, filled with excitement, anticipation, and countless physical and emotional changes. But along with the joy of expecting a new baby comes the challenge of getting a good night's sleep. Pregnant women often struggle with sleep disturbances due to hormonal changes, physical discomforts, and anxiety about their growing baby's well-being.

One of the most common concerns among expecting mothers is finding the best sleeping position. With so much conflicting advice and old wives' tales, it can be difficult to know what's true and what's not. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the best sleeping positions for each trimester, and provide tips and tricks for getting a good night's sleep during pregnancy.

What is the best sleeping position during pregnancy?
Why not sleep on the back or right side?
How to get comfortable sleep during pregnancy?
Conclusion: Make your comfort a priority

What is the best sleeping position during pregnancy?

Lying flat during pregnancy can cause compression of the inferior vena cava, which can lead to poor venous return in the lower body. This can result in low blood pressure, an increased heart rate, and reduced blood flow to the placenta, potentially causing fetal hypoxia. To avoid this, it is recommended that pregnant women sleep on their left side. Most experts believe that sleeping on the left side during pregnancy ensures proper delivery of blood, oxygen, and nutrients to the fetus, which is essential for its growth and development.

Why not sleep on the back or right side?

Pregnancy is a beautiful journey that comes with its own set of challenges. As an expecting mother, you want to ensure that you are taking all the necessary precautions to keep yourself and your baby healthy. One of the things you need to be mindful of is your sleeping position. While it is common knowledge that sleeping on your right side for extended periods of time can be detrimental to your health during pregnancy, many healthcare providers also advise against sleeping on your back in the second and third trimesters.

As pregnancy progresses, lying on your back can put pressure on two important blood vessels: the aorta, a major artery, and the vena cava, a crucial vein. This pressure can make it harder for your heart to pump blood to both you and your growing baby.

This is why doctors recommend that pregnant women avoid lying flat on their backs after the first trimester. During pregnancy, getting a good night’s sleep can be a challenge. As your body changes, finding a comfortable sleeping position becomes increasingly difficult. While some pregnant women may naturally prefer to sleep on their backs, it’s important to understand the potential risks associated with this position. Sleeping on your back can exert pressure on your spine and can exacerbate lower back pain, which is a common complaint among mother-to-be.

Additionally, back sleeping has been linked to an increased risk of snoring and other breathing issues during sleep. Some pregnant women may also experience discomfort and dizziness when lying on their back, thus this is a less preferred posture.

During the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, the uterus can become rotated to varying degrees, leading to tension and twisting of the blood vessels within it. The uterus is skewed to the right in early pregnancy as a result of the sigmoid colon's relative fixation. When lying on the right side, the uterus, which is already skewed to the right, might press even further to the right due to gravity, compressing the liver in the right upper abdomen and causing discomfort.

How to get comfortable sleep during pregnancy?

It seems sense that back pain during pregnancy is a prevalent complaint. You are gaining weight, and your center of gravity is shifting. The ballooning belly can more or less affect your sleep. How to get quality sleep during pregnancy becomes challenging.

First of all, sleep on your left side is a thing you must comply with during pregnancy, no matter what kind of sleeping position you preferred before pregnancy. You have to become a temporary left-side sleeper because sleeping on the left side is the most comfortable sleep position for pregnant women and does not affect the development of the fetus.

The shoulders, lumbar, hips, and abdomen may be pressed too deeply when sleeping on your side. Side sleepers require the proper equipment for a restful night’s sleep. The optimal mattresses for side sleeping should offer a conforming cushion that supports the spine while also cradling the shoulders and hips. Due to different body shapes, a mattress with a variable sinking range, can provide sufficient support and contouring comfort and deliver less stress to your key region.

As your weight and body shape changes every day, your sleep habits may also undergo some changes. A mattress with adjustable firmness can definitely help you a lot, the adjustable mattress possesses a few firmness options through flipping and rotation, and you can find the ideal firmness level to have a restful night's sleep. And after the labor, you still can change the mattress to your preferred firmness level by flipping and rotating it.

Which is the best mattress for pregnancy? Sleeping on your left side is the best sleeping position during pregnancy especially in the third trimester. Your mattress performs the twin function of supporting your spine and cushioning your hips and shoulders. Prime Memory Foam Mattress | Best Flippable Mattress - SweetNight features four different firmness profiles in one mattress thanks to its unique and innovative Contouring CurveTM design. Physically flipping or rotating the mattress can change the firmness level and comfort profile to suit your sleep needs. The variable sinking range can offer you optimal support while providing ample pushback without feeling any discomfort. Also, you can place pillows or cushions strategically under your lower back or between your knees for extra support.

Conclusion: Make your comfort a priority

Between morning sickness, indigestion, backache, and night sweats, your body has to go through a hard series of changes that can make getting enough sleep challenging. More than ever, you will need a more comfortable and relaxing sleeping environment that can ease yourself. By knowing the ideal position to sleep in during each trimester and putting them into practice, you can optimize your sleep environment for quality rest.

Always pay attention to your body and change your sleeping position as necessary to guarantee your body's safety and comfort. With the proper support and adjustments, you can enjoy a relatively restful pregnancy.