Question ref sleeping on back

[haddock1976]

31+6 and my Dd is transverse at the moment.

She seems to be a long baby because if I sleep on my right side I'm squashing her head and she goes mad kicking me and if I turn onto my left side I'm squashing her feet which results in the same kicking frenzy. A pillow placed under the bump results in the same kicking either side.

The only way either of us get any rest is if I'm on my back with a pillow under my right hip to try and tilt her house off the vena cava .

I'm not overly worried but everything I read on the dreaded search engine indicates that I shouldn't lie on my back at all.

What's the MN verdict?

I wouldn't worry too much. The main concern is, like you say, compression of the vena cava but this would wake you - you'd feel sick and dizzy from lack of oxygen as a worst case scenario but as a minimum, you'd just shift position.

Putting a cushion under one hip is a good idea, you only need a slight tilt (can't remember how much sorry) to take the pressure off the VC and a pillow is about right.

From an evolutionary point of view, the human race probably wouldn't have survived so long if we all died in pregnancy sleeping on our backs.

I think this was more of an issue when women were knocked unconcious to give birth or were given very heavy epidurals. This tends not to be the case now.

I think if sleeping on your back gets you sleep then do it. You need energy to give birth and look after a baby. Enjoy the rest

p.s. have you looked at www.spinningbabies.com for help on moving your baby from transverse to head down?

What about lying on your RHS? A pre-natal exercise DVD I've got says this squashes the vena cava too. So you're stuck with LHS. My ribs get so sore and I spend the night realising I've shifted onto my back/RHS, panicking and turning onto my LHS again.

Is this don't-lie-on-the-RHS thing true?

I've been worrying about this too. I'm only comfy on rhs or back or hips hurt soo much. Is on your back ok then with a pillow under your hips? I'm seeing my obstetrician on thurs so I'll try and remember to ask.

It's fine. Resting predominantly on your left is thought to encourage the baby into the optimal position for birth (left anterior) but it's not the only position for birth and sleep in pregnancy is pretty important.

Supine hypertension (compression of vena cava) is something you'd be aware of. I knew someone who was 37+ weeks pg and went for a treatment which kept her on her back for 30 mins. She felt dizzy and sick. They're warring signs to shift position.

I believe that sleeping on a duvet helps hip pain as does lying on your side with a rolled up towel positioned in the dip of your waist to spread the weight off your hips.

Thanks kellykettle, I agree that Mother Nature usually gets it right hence not being too concerned

Thanks for the link, will have look at that tonight.

Thanks kk, for your info. We got a memory foam mattress topper and that has helped too compared to last time for anyone else with dodgy hips!

We had a physio speak to us at one of the early pregnancy introductions at the hospital, and she said its something midwives always tell you to sleep on your left, but sleeping on your right is fine too. She said though that if you did have a problem with blood flow (and other stuff but i wasnt listening) lying on your left for a while would regulate this again.