sleeping on back while pregnant

[EEC]

I know you are supposed to sleep on your side (with copious amounts of pillows) but I seem to still be ending up on my back most of the time (when I do sleep that is!). I'm 18 weeks. Is this bad for me or the baby, or only later on when bump gets bigger? Anyone else sleeping on their back?

I can only pass on what i was told when in the same situation - when the baby gets bigger, they can press down more on the artery feeding the placenta, and that can cause you and the baby to feel uncomfortable. My yoga teacher fwiw said that it's better to get a decent nights sleep and if the baby were to start pressing down on this artery, your body would automatically shift position anyway.

A physio told me a similar thing- if the baby was pressing on the blood supply you would be breathless and dizzy. If you are comfy on your back, at this stage I would concentrate more on getting sleep. I did and now (36 weeks) find that I just sleep on my side anyway.

I was told by mw that sleeping on your back can press on the artery but also that it makes your baby more likely to be 'back to back'. After 34 weeks you should try to sleep on your side and avoid slumping in sofa - keeping the uterus tilted forward encourages 'optimal foetal positioning'. But you don't need to worry about this yet as your LO has still got lots of room to move.

I have just brought the Dream Genii and it stops me from rolling onto my back at night (curently 20 weeks). Found in my 11st preg that I would wake up on my back and same with my 2nd (I know it's comfy when ur not meant to!). Try a pregnancy pillow, but the Dream Genni rrp £39.99 (can get cheaper on ebay for new one) has worked for me and can be used as a feeding pillow once baby is born.

Hope this helps.