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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

Lying down

14 replies

Southwestwhippet · 31/07/2009 19:04

I'm 15 + 3 weeks. I can still lie comfortable on my front, back or either side on/in my bed - I have a memory foam mattress so my little bump just gets absorbed.

I know the advice is to only lie on your side but when should you stop lying on your front? Is it simply when it gets too uncomfortable or is there a recognised time limit? What about lying on your back, should I be avoiding this yet?

I don't want to start making myself miserable until I have to!!

OP posts:

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LuluMaman · 31/07/2009 19:06

lie however you feel comfortable at the moment

left side is meant to be best for optimal blood flow

lying on your back, especially as your bump gets bigger can make you feel faint as the weight of the uterus and baby presses on a major blood vessel. or is it artery?

anyway, it won't harm the baby , but you might feel faint !!

MaElsie · 01/08/2009 11:53

The books say at four months you want to stop lying on your back for long periods of time. But go with whatever's comfortable for as long as you can.

I kept waking up in the middle of the night, thinking "Oh no, I'm crushing it!" a while back, but it's so little at the moment and all wrapped up in a water bag, that there's not much harm you can do.

ErikaMaye · 01/08/2009 13:09

Surround yourself by fluffy pillows, support your lower back and your bump - but most of all make sure you're comfortable There is advice about what is best, but what most MW will say is just make sure you're snuggled up and get some rest.

TakeLovingChances · 01/08/2009 14:15

What??? Where did you all learn this information? I have never heard this in my life! So glad I clicked on this thread!

There is SO MUCH to learn about being pregnant!

Longtalljosie · 01/08/2009 18:18

You'll know when you can't lie on your front any more, it will start to feel uncomfortable. Ditto with having to lie on your left. And it varies from person to person. Some people (like me) get very uncomfortable, very quickly, either on their back or their right. Others are luckier for longer

verylittlecarrot · 01/08/2009 18:34

I'm not great at lying on my side, I find it uncomfortable after a while. In my last pg my MW reassured me that lying on your back is FINE if you are comfortable.

I truly think some of the 'information' out there is a little superfluous. I'm not aware of anyone who has ever suffered complications from backlying. It surely must have gone on for centuries, I would think!

walkingwomb · 01/08/2009 18:44

For my first preganacy i lay on my left side religiously from about 16 weeks to help with baby positioning and it did fark all for me as my DD stayed on my right up until labour.

This time i am going with my instincts. Until I am uncomfortable I am going to keep lying on my back (31 weeks now, still comfy, doesn't make me faint) and from about 35 weeks start to do the left thing.

Trust your instincts, life is a lot easier.

funtimewincies · 01/08/2009 20:20

Just do whatever is comfortable. I'm 24 weeks with my second and this one certainly lets me know if I'm lying in a position which doesn't suit him/her .

I'm afraid that the bigger your bump gets, the more you'll just be pleased to be able to find any position which is vaguely comfy.

wrigglershouse · 01/08/2009 20:30

There is no medical reason why it would be a problem for the baby to lie in any bloody position you want. Some people think it helps to persuade it to lie straight and head down but actually when nicely floating in lots of water it doesn't much care about up/down/side-to-side and by the time its too big to float it actually fits best in the right position and will go there on its own.

For you it might be more comfortable at some point to stop lying on your back, it will certainly be more comfortable at some point to stop lying on your front. As long as you are comfortable then you are fine.

Longtalljosie · 01/08/2009 22:08

Where did you hear that, wrigglershouse? Because my pregnancy book, and several other sources, say lying on your back or right puts pressure on your inferior vena cava in later pregnancy. And come to that, I can feel that it does - if I roll onto either, I wake up feeling unpleasantly like I'm suffocating

mogend77 · 02/08/2009 18:38

You're both right. Back lying can press on the vena cava but it won't harm the baby because it causes the mother to feel faint and move her position long before it harms the baby. Sleep stdies have shown that even when asleep the mother instinctively changes position once it starts to press on it.

I am 31 weeks and though I sleep on my side I do slump over so that my bump is half on my front - I am not actually on my front, but it must be a little bit pressed. It's bizarre that I am still doing this as last time I was too scared to sleep on my front from about 6 weeks, convinced I'd crush the baby! I do fret a little that I'm lying on baby's head LOL but it's the only way I can sleep & I get little enough sleep as it is. And I have never actually heard (yet) that it's harmful to sleep on your front - it's just a niggling feeling that I oughtn't to be.

wrigglershouse · 02/08/2009 18:49

I'm a doctor.

Some women do certainly feel very uncomfortable if they lie on their back for any length of time but, as Mogend says, in your sleep you will always roll over long before you do yourself any harm. And there are people who will continue to feel ok lying on their back and they don't HAVE to avoid it as the problem is that dizzy/short of breath feeling. You honestly won't stay on your back long enough to pass out or be harmed unless you are being held there (why c sections are done slightly over to one side, because women having one can't just move if they start to feel dodgy).

And the blood supply that is compromised is the return to your heart from the legs and lower half of the body, so there is no chance of the amount of blood getting TO the baby being reduced as the walls of the arteries are much too thick and muscular to be compressed, so there is no chance of harming the baby at all.

YanknCock · 02/08/2009 19:56

As a committed stomach-sleeper, the third trimester has been miserable, because now I physically can't sleep that way. I only stopped around 23 weeks-ish when the baby would wiggle and kick every time I ended up on my stomach. I also have a memory foam mattress which is great for my achy hips, but still have to switch sides several times a night and have about a thousand pillows in my little nest!

ErikaMaye · 03/08/2009 00:19

As long as my hips, back and bump are surrounded by pillows, I'll snooze however I please Seriously, though, I'm already finding it so difficult to get comfortable enough to even start to drop off. Anyone else having extreme pins and needles in their arms and hands?? Ugh.

YanknCock - at you sleeping on your front until 23 weeks! I think I'd have probably have had the crap kicked out of me if I'd have tried But hey, whatever is comfortable. Hope you manage to find a way to sleep that suits you

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