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Pregnancy

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

Sleeping on back, propped up?

1 reply

CobaltRose96 · 07/01/2019 09:15

Hi all.

I'm currently 31 weeks pregnant with my first baby and have been sleeping on my side since the beginning. I understand that it's not recommended to sleep flat on your back when pregnant, but I've just come down with an absolute stinker of a cold and cough and I'm not getting any sleep whatsoever on my side due to coughing and congestion. Propping myself up on my side with three pillows does help, but it also hurts my neck!

Would it be okay if I slept on my back with my chest and head propped up on three of four pillows? That way I'm not lying flat on my back.

I just wanna sleep dammit Grin

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Spargle · 07/01/2019 09:32

When I’ve had a cold like this in the past, as a dedicated front/sleeper (gave that up weeks ago, alas!), I’ve always made myself a bit of a pillow nest. I make the pillows into a v-shape so that they support me on my side, including down to my waist.

I start with a pillow with one end under where my head will be, and the other in front of me, at an angle. The second starts at the same place, but is to support my body - it’s at about 80 degrees to the first, and I want it to go down to nearly my waist. The third is the same as the first, and the fourth is like the second, but optimised to support my head and get out of the way of my shoulder, while not being in the way of my face, because any obstruction makes breathing harder at that point!

It takes a bit of arranging, but I’ve always been able to get comfortable that way with a bit of careful propping up, making sure my torso is held roughly in a straight line. For pregnancy, you might need to get a bit inventive with pillow positioning, particularly around your bump, and you might find that your normal pregnancy pillow, if you have one, has a part to play somewhere.

If you do decide to keep sleeping on your back, is there any way you could use loads of cushions to take your whole body up - like a wedge? The more upright you can get (while still totally reclining), the better it is for blood flow to the womb, I believe, and the straighter you can keep your neck, the less uncomfortable you will be.

I hope that you manage to find a comfortable sleeping position.

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