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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

So they tell you not to sleep on your back...

20 replies

Meringue33 · 02/12/2012 00:05

And I can't sleep on my front because of the bump. Then they give you a jab in each upper arm (flu in one, whooping cough in t'other... Ouch. Now I can't sleep on either side either?!!!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

baublesandbaileys · 02/12/2012 00:09

you can sleep on your front, its easier of you have massive boobs to prop you up but can substitute with pillows, you can sleep on your back if you find it comfortable, if it is compressing your blood vessels you'll know about it

confuddledDOTcom · 02/12/2012 00:45

Sleep how you're comfortable, you won't hurt the baby, it'll be you that gets uncomfortable and then you'll move and find a better position. You're not supposed to sleep on your right side either - tell me how many people can sleep only on their left side for however long it takes?

Front - you're on your bump so not comfortable because you can't lie flat.
Back - you risk the baby putting pressure on the vena cava and cutting off blood supply to your lower body (in which case pins and needles in your legs wakes you and you move)
Right - the stomach can drain giving you heartburn (in which case you wake and move)

I generally either sleep on my back, slightly propped because that's how I'm most comfortable, or in a sort of recovery position because I like to lie on my front and it's a good compromise.

Original poster

Meringue33 · 02/12/2012 11:35

Ouch :(

OP posts:

EggNogMichelle · 02/12/2012 13:44

I've had to sleep on my back the last few nights (horrible cold and ear ache) and found propping myself up with lots of pillows has helped and I haven't had any swelling/pins and needles in my legs!

TwitchyTail · 02/12/2012 13:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

confuddledDOTcom · 02/12/2012 14:23

Yeah and it's only Mum who's going to be uncomfortable, baby won't notice!

I do get annoyed at all the things they tell us we can and can't do/ eat/ drink! Most of them are ridiculous and they're not allowing us to be sensible or not and live with it. As someone who has lost babies and a high risk pregnancy I've seen so many women hurt by these ridiculous rules as they go back through them and mentally work out which one caused whatever it is has happened to their baby. Did sleeping on their front cause it? Was it that runny egg? At the same time everyone is trying to convince them that they did nothing wrong - both can't be true, you can't hold your baby's life in your hands when you're pregnant AND it not be your fault when something goes wrong!

Sorry, step away from the pet peeve...

stowsettler · 03/12/2012 09:18

confuddledDOTcom are you me?!
It's all so ridiculously hysterical. I've had MIL tell me I can't eat pate (really?! One poxy little bruschetta with a bit of Tesco's pre-packed?! - I ate it anyway), criticising frowns when I've ordered a bacon and brie sarnie, even my bloody sister forcing decaf coffee on me. I only drink about 2 cups of instant a day FGS!
As for sleeping - I do what the hell I want! Big boobs mean I've never been able to sleep on my front but at 29+5 I'm still sleeping quite happily for part of the night on my back.
It's so easy to give in to all the hype, but if you try very hard to hang on to some semblance of common sense you'll see that, for the most part, moderation is the key.

ThreeWheelsGood · 03/12/2012 09:42

This is why I insisted the nurse gave me both jabs in one arm! The opposite arm from the side I sleep on.

Original poster

Meringue33 · 03/12/2012 10:47

Wish I'd thought of that 3 wheels! Must remember next time. It's also the place everyone puts their hands when they give me a hug, ouch again!!

OP posts:

Dogsmom · 03/12/2012 12:27

I try and sleep on my left if I can but due to painful hips often wake up and have rolled onto my back.

weeblueberry · 03/12/2012 13:23

The sleeping thing has actually really stressed me out recently! I know it shouldn't but I'm finding I'm waking up in the middle of the night because I'm lying on my right thinking 'I need to switch to my left for placenta reasons!!'.

I seriously need to chill my brain.

confuddledDOTcom · 03/12/2012 14:25

stowsettler - nice to see someone with some sense! As long as you're not going mad it doesn't matter if it's an alcoholic drink or pate. Not many of us eat or drink to the levels we should be worried about it.

weeblueberry - it's all about heartburn, if you get heartburn you will wake up and move. Placentas vary in position (my current one is anterior and would have been in the way of my first section if it had been there then!) so the position you sleep in won't have much affect on the baby.

Offcolour · 03/12/2012 22:06

Take paracetamol before bed, I had the same thing and it helped me get some sleep, had to top up during the night though.

weeblueberry · 04/12/2012 10:24

Thanks confuddledDOTcom. I thought I'd read somewhere that the blood flow was better into the placenta when sleeping on left? Or maybe the Baby Brain just made that up!!

peeriebear · 04/12/2012 10:29

I never once gave any consideration to my sleeping position. I'd not even heard that this was bad or that was better. I usually slept on my back!

LeBFG · 04/12/2012 10:33

I worried about this the first time around - and weight gain - and tons of other things. DS came early anyway and of course it was nothing I did 'wrong', nothing at all. I'm now pg with second and I sleep however I like figuring it's best for all (me, baby, ds and DH) if I get a good night sleep .

Petcat · 04/12/2012 12:04

I think pregnant women are advised to sleep on their left as it may reduce the risk of the baby being stillborn. Here's a link to the research in the BMJ www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d3403

As a natural right-hand sleeper I've found it very hard to change to the other side. I use pillows to sort-of wedge myself into place, and me and DP have swapped sides in bed, which seems to have helped a bit too.

LadyMaryCrawley · 04/12/2012 12:19

At antenatal class yesterday the midwife said that sleeping on the left encourages the baby to get in a good position for birth.

I usually sleep on my left anyway but have found that spending an hour or two on my back with a pillow under my hips does wonders for easing PGP. Sleeping on my right just gives me acid reflux.

LeBFG · 04/12/2012 15:03

Interesting link Petcat - they also find daytime snoozing doubles stillborn risk too . Also, the risky practice is sleeping the last night not-on-your-left. What you did last week or last month (i.e. regulaly do) was statistically insignificant. Worth noting that stillbirth rates are really low (in this study, Aukland, 3.09 per 1000 births) too.

I found this news report about the paper and somewhere down the page a women says the babies were dead possibly up to a week before the stillbirth so what goes on the night before may not even be very important.

confuddledDOTcom · 04/12/2012 23:18

I can't see how they can link it to sleeping position, can you remember how you slept last night? How do you think you'd cope recalling if you'd just lost a baby and then asked how you slept last night? I know when we lost our baby my brain wasn't working, it seemed like a different life time ago!

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