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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Mind the bump..Which way do i sleep??

11 replies

JUJUBUG · 04/05/2012 13:25

Hi Ladies,

Im 27 weeks pregnant and my baby girl is a real mover! when sleeping i tend to go towards my left side. As shes now get bigger i feel like shes geeting stuck/ squashed. Shoukd i be sleeping on my back?? any ideas x

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iloveholidays · 04/05/2012 13:28

I think they advise to sleep on your left hand side.

flipflopper · 04/05/2012 13:35

yes, the left hand side is reccomended.
I'm 21 weeks and i woke up on my front yesterday morning! I thought I'd squashed it!

Positiveplus · 04/05/2012 13:41

I'd heard left hand side was meant to be better though, at 21 weeks, I do often find myself sleeping on my right hand side or even my front!!
Im sure I cant be doing any damage and it cant get squashed though!!

weaselinthenight · 04/05/2012 14:35

Sleeping on your back is bad apparently as it can reduce blood supply. I have just bought one of the long Theraline pillows you cuddle up to and it supports the bump, and it is FANTASTIC! Doubles as a nursing pillow once DS arrives!

HaggisNeepsTatties · 04/05/2012 15:31

Second the Theraline Pillow - it's really comfortable and definitely stops me moving around as much as I normally do!

elliemay80 · 04/05/2012 15:34

i too have woken up on my front (not entirely, slightly side-on but enough to squish bump) and my back! always make sure i fall to sleep on my left side but i must do a lot of moving in my sleep. i don't think you can do any damage as baby is well cushioned in there but it is a little concerning. i may get one of those pillows. there will be less and less room in the bed for DH as this pregnancy progresses!

Enfyshedd · 05/05/2012 08:24

It's recommended to sleep on your left, but I can't get comfy on my left - I wake up everytime I've turned onto my left because of the pain I get in my shoulder. The bottom line as far as I'm concerned is the best position to sleep in is the one that you can get to sleep and stay asleep in!

amateurmater · 05/05/2012 10:18

It is recommended that you sleep on your left hand side for the following reason....

There are big blood vessels which run from your heart, (in the the middle of your chest) down your back to just below your belly button where they divide into smaller tubes. Your womb and baby lie in front of these blood vessels and when lying on your back their combined weight can squash these tubes and affect the way blood flows around the body. A bit like standing on a hose pipe.

If these blood vessels are squashed you may feel faint, dizzy and sick as there will be less blood flowing to your head. If you feel like this then there is also less blood flowing to your placenta and baby.

Lying on your side takes the pressure of your womb and baby off these blood vessels. These blood vessels lie a little to the right in your body hence the advice to lie on the left. The further on in pregnancy you are, and the bigger your womb and baby, the more likely you are to be affected.

However, lying on your right hand side if more comfortable is fine and you can't control what happens when you are asleep, so just try to start off on whichever side feels more comfortable.

If you notice that you feel faint when lying on your back the advice to lie on your side is even more important. Try using pillows to stop yourself rolling over.

I hope this helps.

Spiritedwolf · 05/05/2012 10:56

Sleep?!?!? You mean that we're supposed to be able to sleep with our 2028 Olympic gymnastic hopefuls wriggling about in our bellys and sending us to the toilet several times a night?

Sorry, baby was particuarly active last night. I find that I turn over a lot in the night - switching between left and right side. My left is marginally more comfortable, but I find it difficult to lie still when I'm not yet asleep, the light is better for reading on my right, and baby is more active on my left too. The problem is that I find turning over a major operation, with my stomach muscles a bit tender (think I over did things trying to vacum the stairs yesterday), bump huge and duvet and body pillow to position. I tend to either drop my pillow out of the bed, or pull the covers off of DH. Prefer to do the later, as stretching for the pillow is harder than sorting out the duvet.

I don't find myelf on my front too much now, though I used to. I found that I'd put my weight somewhat on my hip and knee to avoid completely squashing bump. I find the body pillow helps me get the feeling of lying on my front, but without fully doing so - so sort of lying on my side, but letting the pillow support my front.

I'm 28 wks +4 and fully expect the sleep deprivation training to continue...

needsomesunshine · 05/05/2012 22:05

I always sleep on my front even if I try to sleep on my side . My body just seems to go back to that position when I'm sleeping. I got a full length body pillow from argos which helps.

Weezie85 · 06/05/2012 06:42

I am still managing to sleep on my front. I go to sleep on my left or right and wake up on my front. I am 37+4. I have a body pillow which I seem to nestle myself into so bump isn't actually lying on the bed and just hovering above. I did ask midwife and she said it won't do any damamge even this late. As above the advice is to sleep on left due to the bloodflow, but you can't help moving in your sleep. When I have tried to force my body not to move by surrounding myself with pillows I must of moved all the pillows off the bed in my sleep.

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