Is it still a No-No to sleep on your back when PG?

[LadyTophamHatt]

I'm 18 weeks now, have a definate pronounced bump and no matter what I do I can't help sleeping on my back.

It was a almost a hanging offence when PG with ds3 so am I still breaking PG laws??

never heard that one before!

I slept however I felt!

I know they recommend sleeping on your left side - but didn't realise sleeping on your back was not allowed. I had to lie on my back cos my left leg would go numb if I lay on that side for too long!!

if you normally sleep on your back, you'll automatically turn onto your back once asleep anyway.
Just sleep while you can, remember you won't be able to get to sleep in later stages and once baby arrives you'll have even less!

i know its recommended for left side but its not law...lol I sleep anyway I can get comfy.

Issues are about ending up with babby 'back to back' with you if you lie on back/slouch in seats etc too much, which can (IME does) lead to to a longer an dmore painful labour...also around when you are biiig pregnant and it can affect blood supply when the weight of bump pushes on stuff...
I woudl religiously go to sleep on my side...only to wake up (repeatedly) lying on my back...in later pg would wake because of discomfort caused by lying on back

Don't think the MN police will be coming to get you!!!

In the later stages with ds3 sleeping on my sides caused no end of agony for me. apart from my hips going numb I physically couldn't turn over in bed without excruciating pain and my hips making horrible popping sounds. If I wanted to roll over I had to get out of bed and get back in facing the other way!

There were loads and loads of threads about it when I was PG before but I haven't seen any this time so I wondered if it was still something they say not to do (even though it pretty impossible to avoid)

Baby...not babby...yuk!

LOL jessa, I have to admit I did do a little cringe at that word. Glad it was typo!

I worried about this loads when pg with ds. From what I understand, though, the concern is that the weight of the baby will compress major arteries and decrease blood flow. I think that you actually get a bit light-headed if this happens which would alert you to the problem. This time around I am just trying to stay comfortable as all that worrying about the left side just disturbed my sleep. I don't think it's an issue until you're really far along , at which point you're not sleeping much anyway!

i seem to curl up on top of the quilt - wrapped around myself. I must look like a complete idiot... but i dont think DH would tell me so, he would feel my wrath!

I remember it being a no-no for the reasons jabberwocky gave. I was forever trying to sleep on my side, especially towards the end, but always woke up on my back (often with my arms above my head like a posing starlet, for some bizarre reason). And dh was forever poking me in the night, waking me up to tell me I was sleeping on my back. I ended up sleeping in a sort of sitting up position, lying back on a huge pile of pillows, which helped the hideous indigestion and didn't seem to squash any important arteries.

I think at this stage it's not a hanging offence, more when the weight of the baby is enough to squash the relevant arteries. But I've been told (after whinging like mad about the same thing) that if you just put a small pillow under your right (?) side, just to lift it by ten degrees or so, then that's fine. The wedge cushion thingy is good for that for me.

But of course what I'm finding now, is that if I lie flat on my back, the weight is on my bladder, and I need the loo even more often than normal, if such a thing is possible.

Now I'm worried - not about sleeping in my back but about sleeping on my left! What's wrong with sleeping on your right?

Please advise.

Pumpkin
x

I think it's something to do with arteries going down the right hand side, pumpkin. Sleeping on the left side means they aren't squashed....I think!!

sleeping on the left side apparently 'helps blood and nutrients flow to the foetus and uterus and helps the kidneys eliminate waste and fluids'

I have also found the downfalls of sleeping on your Back:

Sleeping on your back puts the full weight of your uterus on your back, intestines, and the inferior vena cava (the vein that transports blood from your lower body to your heart). Lying on your back can also increase the risk of you developing backaches and haemorrhoids, poor digestion, impaired breathing and circulation, and even low blood pressure.

All above info found on Babycentre website

I put a pillow behind my back, so when I inevitably rolled onto my back in my sleep, I was still tipped to the left slightly. MF said that was fine.

Im 35 weeks now. And up to 27 weeks I was sleeping any which way back, front, side. I was concerned as DH would always wake me to tell me im sleeping on my tummy.I asked mw and she told me if babys not comfortable then I wouldnt feel comfortable. So didnt worry at this stage I can only sleep on my sides however do occasionally end up on my back. But baby is head down and doing fine so im happy with that.