Sleeping on your back or right side????

[Dee2009]

Hi,
I keep reading that you shouldn't lie on your right side or your back during pregnancy, Why???
I am 23 weeks and find it difficult to sleep on the same side all night! My mum says this is a new thing and she slept however she wanted!!
Just wondered if any1 else has heard about this??

[TAFKAtheUrbanDryad]

The only thing I avoided was sleeping in my front - because it was really uncomfortable! I've no idea why you shouldn't lie on your side or back when you're pg - the baby's not going to get dizzy!

[karlu]

I am avoiding sleeping on my back as your uterus presses on some sort of vein that supplies it with blood etc. Left side is supposed to be better but I can't really sleep on my left all the time - my poor left ear is in agony. Have you tried a special pillow for pregnancy: it sort of snakes under your head and between your legs and support your tummy.

[Dee2009]

Karlu, try to avoid sleeping on my back anyway as DH says i snore too much if i sleep like this. Have just got a wedge for under my tummy which is wonderful and i put a pillow between my legs!
I wonder why sleeping on the left side is better!?!

[sunnybump]

I think it's an anatomical thing to do with where you're arteries, liver and kidneys are. Sleeping on the left side it give maximum blood flow to the baby and doesn't squash your liver. This is what I gleaned from an internet search, when I had a wee panic cause I sleep on my left, so it could be a load of rubbish!

I try to sleep on both sides now.

[sunnybump]

Ooops should have said cause I naturally sleep on my right

[TakeLovingChances]

I have this same problem too. I prefer to sleep on my back or right side, but now I'm 19 weeks pregnant I try to sleep on left side.

However, the body is a wonderful thing and when you're sleeping you can't control it. So often I wake up lying on my right side or on my back.

I do think that whatever is most comfortable is best and that the body will correct itself if it is damaging. This isn't based in medical research, it's just my opinion.

So if you lie on your right side when sleeping by accident your body will shift itself during the night to protect you and baby.

T

[gizzy1973]

i usually sleep on right or left side - tend to toss and turn a lot
if i sleep on my back i tend to find baby kicks more although often wake up flat on my back

[brightonbleach]

I think your body will tell you if you are actually squashing the artery that is mentioned in articles about avoiding sleeping on your back when pregnant - if you lay on your back to sleep and find you go dizzy, breathless or get palpitations then you will need to shift onto your side but am sure you will find you do it anyway!

[GoldenSnitch]

I believe sleeping on your back is supposed to squash the Vena Cava which supplies the uterus with blood but I've also hear people say it stops the fluid draining from your legs.

I have a previous injury which makes sleeping on my left hip very painful sometimes so I tend to swap from side to side.

I also often wake up on my back. This is becoming more and more incomfortable now (I'm 28 weeks) and I found with my last pregnancy that this used to make me feel sick and as if I was being crushed towards the end!

Your body will soon tell you if it's wrong.

[MoonlightMcKenzie]

Bollocks! In late pregnancy, sleeping on your back can mean that the womb lies in a way that deprives the baby of oxygen. However, it is the mother that is starved first and she will automatically turn over in her sleep if this happens. Sleeping on the left hand side helps the baby to get into the right position for birth, but it will probably do this anyway, - it's just that gravity helps when you are on your left.

So, sleep however you are comfortable and don't slouch in the daytime.

[ElectricElephant]

Sleeping on your left is better than your right due to the position of your liver, and sleeping on your back might squash the vena cava when heavily pregnant.

Sleeping on your left can help the baby get in the best position for the birth apparently (but then so can scrubbing the skirting boards)

Just sleep in a position you find most comfortable. Soon, sleep will be the most second most precious thing in the world to you

[amarantha]

I'm 27 weeks and I still sleep on my back, right or left sides in fact I've even woken up on my stomach. I'm not worried about anything my logic is that my body knows what its doing and therefore I'll move if anything is likely to happen to bump.