Lying on your back when pregnant

[Blakey1]

Does anyone know why its bad to lie on your back when you are pregnant and when should you stop doing it?

There's a major artery that the baby will put pressure on if you lie on your back - this can make you feel unwell and is also meant to be not so good for the baby. Not sure when you're meant to stop doing it but good to get in the habit quite early ime. The best position is meant to be sleeping on your left as this also helps get the baby into optimum position for birth.

I'm 30 weeks and try to lie on my side, but often find I've moved onto my back by morning. I think it's supposed to make you feel faint. I can't stay in any position for very long though..

if it makes you feel faint, you will notice. if it doesn't lie away. i have been sleeping on my back in this pregnancy (after lying on my left the entire of the last one and still ending up with a baby lying on the right). I stopped at about 34 weeks coz i thought it was encouraging my baby into a back to back position - but that may all be in my head.

Any comfy position in pregnancy is a miracle, i have trapped nerve on left hand side so spend half the night trying to get comfy. If your not suppose to lay on your back to long im sure your body will naturally move you in you sleep

Lying on your left also helps with heartburn because the trapdoor in your throat (medical lingo, dontcha know?) opens that way.

I've been lying on my side since 20 weeks, following the recommended advice, and wondering if it was of any point.
The other day went to the midwife, she put me on my back on the bed, and I went completely woozy. She said this was because of the artery.
Now I'm making sure that there is a cushion on either side of me in bed so if I do roll onto my back then there is something underneath me.

It defintely can make you faint but only if you are a little further along in the pregnancy when you are heavier (say after 20 weeks)and lying flat on your back. Propped up with pillows is OK so I've fouund an the doc said that's fine too. I'm having twins and a lot of the girls I've made friends with who are having twins are fainting during their scans just becuase they have to lie on thelr back for longer than with one baby. I definitely get faint when I lie on my back. But if you can get away with it and it doesn't make you dizzy then I would do it. As some one above mentioned... it's impossible to get comfy so I would do it until it makes you feel uncomfortable.

If it affects you, you'll know about it. It really affected me, I could feel the pressure, it was like I was suffocating

Some people can lie on their backs - I can, but I don't want baby to go back to back with me. Sometimes it's the only way to be comfy though.

I slept on my back most of my pregnancy as that was the only comfy position, if you have a a problem with lying on your back you will know about it quickly and in that case don't do it but otherwise it will be fine.

I asked my midwife about when you were suppose to stop lying on your back, as I'd read an NCT book which said not to do it after the first trimester, whereas the NHS book said 'late pregnancy'. She said that it depended how big you got, but probably around 32-33 weeks onwards was the time to try to avoid it. She did say, though, that if you normally sleep on your back, it's fine, and not to worry if you wake up in the night to find you've rolled onto your back. She said that if lying in that position was likely to cause problems, your body would probably wake itself up anyway.

I remember being on the ward after giving birth and woman across from me said to the nurse, with such an air of longing, 'is it ok to sleep on my back now?'. I knew exactly how she felt. It does make me feel a bit faint tho was worse in first pregnancy than in this one. Left lateral is apparently the preferred position.