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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

Sleeping whilst pregnant

13 replies

mrscotton · 31/10/2021 18:02

Hi, i am currently 21 weeks pregnant with my first child so very new to all this & Mumsnet.
I just wanted to ask advice about sleeping. I have read on NHS that its best to sleep on your sides but i find it very uncomfortable and my hips start to ache so i end up spending most the night tossing & turning.
I was told by a midwife (not my midwife as only seen her once so far) that its fine to sleep on your back but NHS website says this will increase the risk of stillborn. With approx. 20 weeks left to go and feeling tired 99% the time anyway, would you just sleep how you feel comfortable for now?
Any advice would be great as I dont have many people around me that have recently had children to be able to speak to them about it.

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DizzySquirrel90 · 31/10/2021 18:23

I thought it was only in third trimester to sleep on side specifically -

I have no real advice to be honest. I've slept on my sides all throughout as I was a side sleeper anyway, i have been suffering with hip pain, do you have pillow in-between legs etc?

Original poster

mrscotton · 31/10/2021 18:39

@DizzySquirrel90

I thought it was only in third trimester to sleep on side specifically -

I have no real advice to be honest. I've slept on my sides all throughout as I was a side sleeper anyway, i have been suffering with hip pain, do you have pillow in-between legs etc?

It does say after 28 weeks to sleep on your side but i started earlier to try get in the habit of it (i am a worrier so panic ill do something to harm baby). I haven't tried a pillow between my legs, we do have some spare pillows so could try that

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RavenclawsRoar · 31/10/2021 18:44

I'm a back sleeper and it's hard! I actually can't sleep on my back now because my bump is huge and it makes me feel light headed. I have a big U shaped pregnancy pillow, then another smaller V shaped pillow on top - I use those to kind of squish myself into place on my side. Then I put a pillow between my knees. It's an absolute mission and I'm so bloody uncomfortable I can hardly sleep anyway but it does stop me rolling onto my back.

TakeYourFinalPosition · 31/10/2021 18:46

My midwife told me no back sleeping after 20 weeks as it increases the chances of still birth, and quoted some Tommy stats that I haven’t been able to forget… I’ve been trying to rotate hips; with a pillow between my legs, but it is uncomfortable!

I know some people ignore the advice, and a decent amount of websites give the American advice which seems to be more lax - so you wouldn’t be the only one if you decided to just do it. I couldn’t relax lying on my back knowing the advice, so sadly it wouldn’t help me sleep 🙈

DizzySquirrel90 · 31/10/2021 18:52

@mrscotton also OP if you have another spare pillow pop it behind you so if you do roll onto your back, you aren't flat on your back, but the pillow between the legs does help ease the pain/pressure (until your near the end)

I'm 38+6 and the pillow between legs helped until about 4 weeks ago and things started getting more painful!

SweetBabyCheeses99 · 31/10/2021 18:56

It’s a fairly convincing piece of research: bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1471-2393-14-171.pdf

I find if low on side with the lower leg straight and bend just my upper leg and rest it on a pillow then it stops me from moving. Pillow can then also be used to support the bump too.

Franca123 · 31/10/2021 18:57

I had a pregnancy pillow and couldn't do without it. DreamGenii I think was the brand. I loved that pillow.

Original poster

mrscotton · 31/10/2021 18:57

My husband already moans about how much of the bed i take as im constantly sleeping in the middle but the pillows seem a good idea to try, hopefully help with the hip pain. Doesnt help that when i wake up, i tend to think about everything & anything so stay awake for an hour or so then find it hard to get back to sleep on my side.

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Franca123 · 31/10/2021 18:58

I couldn't sleep on my bed from quite early on as i could feel the weight. It was horrid. Inclined to believe the advise that's it's bad. A pillow between your ankles can also help.

Franca123 · 31/10/2021 18:58

Should read back not bef

Original poster

mrscotton · 31/10/2021 19:01

[quote DizzySquirrel90]@mrscotton also OP if you have another spare pillow pop it behind you so if you do roll onto your back, you aren't flat on your back, but the pillow between the legs does help ease the pain/pressure (until your near the end)

I'm 38+6 and the pillow between legs helped until about 4 weeks ago and things started getting more painful![/quote]
I will try a pillow tonight and see if i can sleep better. Thank you for the advice 😊

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Original poster

mrscotton · 31/10/2021 19:03

@Franca123

I had a pregnancy pillow and couldn't do without it. DreamGenii I think was the brand. I loved that pillow.

Just had a quick look online, this pillow seems perfect so will have to get one 😊

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Strawberrryfields · 01/11/2021 06:19

I went for a wedge pillow with a detachable strap in the middle - one for my bump and the other to stop rolling on my back (after waking in a panic!) A bit of a faff sometimes switching from left side to right but have slept better knowing it’s there, couldn’t roll if I tried. It’s on the smaller side too - probably would have gotten a big u one though if we had a massive bed, they look so comfy!

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