Sleeping on front

[Poppyismyfavourite]

Hi All
I have always slept on my front (with my chest, middle and legs flat to the bed, head turned to the side, and arms above /under my head). My second choice is on my back, but I turn quite a bit so end up rotating through positions.
I've read that you should sleep on your side during pregnancy, and just wondering if anyone knows (a) how important this is, and (b) when it starts to matter?
I'm only 6 weeks atm so I still feel fine on my front, trying not to, but i don't sleep nearly as well if i don't.

I'm still sleeping on my front sometimes at 19 weeks, I believe it's fine until it becomes uncomfortable. I don't really have a bump yet. I am trying to get into the habit of sleeping on my side though, it just doesn't last through the night!

In the first trimester I don't think it matters, as long as you're comfortable.

I slept on my front until it became too uncomfortable which was probably around 18-20 weeks.
I'm now 32 weeks and it's not that hard to lie on my side as it really is the most comfortable position with the bump. I occasionally turn on my back in the night and wake myself feeliing 'squashed' so just go back on my side.

I am a front sleeper too and nearly 25 weeks.

It doesn’t matter in your first trimester, but they advise from week 28 you need to avoid sleeping on your back. This is because there is a main artery there that struggles with the weight of your bump and it can cut blood flow and oxygen to your baby (it can also make you feel unwell and dizzy). They say there is a higher chance of stillbirth if you sleep on your back after this point.

Sleeping on your side is the recommended safest way to sleep but as far as I’m aware you are safe to sleep on your front for as long as it is comfortable (I found once bump started growing it just wasn’t comfortable anymore). I would recommend starting to get used to sleeping on your side, I brought a pregnancy pillow which has really helped me get comfortable.

When you get to that stage don’t panic if you find you’ve woken up and you’re on your back, just roll back on to your side. As long as you fell asleep on your side It’s likely you would have spent the majority of your time in that position.

I’m 32 weeks, former front sleeper - god I miss it!!! I got to about 25 weeks before it got too uncomfortable as I felt really ‘full’ and everything I read said it was fine.

I’ve managed to develop a sort of compromise sleeping position where I’m on my left but as far over as I can go now I have a bigger bump, so sort of at a 90 degree angle between proper side sleeping and front sleeping. Bump stops me going any further over!

I am a front sleeper and continued to do so until it was uncomfortable. It will become impossible! With my third pregnancy it didn’t matter how I went to sleep I always woke up on my back. There’s not much you can do about it when you’re asleep. Just go back on your side when you wake up.

You will become way too uncomfortable to sleep on your front, it will become literally impossible. I asked my midwife this question because I was a front sleeper and she said until it felt uncomfortable to do then it's fine to carry on. I think I stopped laying on my front properly when I got a bump at about 17ish weeks.

I've never slept on my back but used to lay on my back a lot, she said the same about this. This will become too uncomfortable as well because you won't be able to breathe! I'm 34 weeks now and if I lay on my back for more than a few seconds I go dizzy and can't breathe. I think it's been like this for a good 6-8 weeks 😊 good luck!

It's fine until it's uncomfortable. Then you should try to start sleep on your side as opposed to your back.

I found a long L shaped pillow (dream genie? It was a long time ago) really helpful when I could no longer sleep comfortably on my front. It propped up the bump and helped me feel like I was more on my front.

I am a former front/back sleeper too.

Slept on the front until the bump appeared and made it uncomfortable. Now I use pregnancy pillow to prop the bump and lean forward towards the front (I hope this makes sense!) when sleeping. Sleeping on the back became quite uncomfortable too with the weight of the bump, so now I am quite relieved side is the only comfy position 😬.

A recommended way to sleep on your side is to tip forward with your top leg bent so that that knee is touching the bed. You can put a pillow down to cushion your bump. It redistributes the weight between your side, hip and leg etc and it encourages baby into a good position as you get further on. It's the closest to front sleeping you'll manage once the big bump is in the way!

I am also a back/ front sleeper but got a pillow early on and have been trying to side sleep as much as poss. I’m 24 weeks with a bit of a bump now, I occasionally nap on my front using my pillow in a donut shape to house the bump! In the evenings I do lie on my side (left most but I do switch as get uncomfortable if in the same position for too long). As the poster above says, when I sleep on my side I am leant quite far over to try and take a bit of weight of my hip. I have the BBhugme pillow which is a long sausage seems to work well and can bend it into a donut for front laying if you want. I also sometimes prop myself up into almost sitting position with loads of pillows and doze like that! Can’t wait to be able to sleep however I want again

I'm nearly 32 weeks and just about still managing to sleep on my front sort of... Across my shoulders I'm on my front but I have to have my hips rotated so my lower half slightly more on one side than the other - similar to how you would be in the recovery position

I’m sleeping on my front for as long as I feel comfortable. I’ve tried getting used to sleeping on my side but I always wake up during the night in pain.

Thanks everyone! I've gone back to sleeping on my front guilt-free!
I'm only 8 weeks but it's starting to feel a little uncomfortable :(