Going to sleep on my side, keep waking up on my back!

[KarenAdie]

I'm 25 weeks pregnant, and I know I'm not supposed to lie on my back (I actually fainted and had a short seizure during my 20 week scan, from lying on my back too long). So I go to sleep on my side, but more often than not I wake up later on my back. Am I risking cutting off blood supply and nutrients to the baby? DH is terrified after the scan, and very keen for me to not be on my back! Would my body wake itself up if I was in danger of fainting/seizing again? Is there a way I could restrain myself and stay on my side (short of strapping me to the bed..)?

Hi karenadie!
how scary for you both! have you tried putting a pillow or support roll behind your back, to stop you subconciously rolling on your back??? sorry cant answer your other questions! xx

I have exactly the same problem and asked my midwife what to do this week. She said not to worry too much - you don't have too much control over it... but to have more pillows than usual so even if you were on your back you wouldn't be flat and your head wouldn't be tipped back to so much. I have three plump ones now and I am not flat. The other thing to do might be to get a long sausage pillow wedged in front and another one tucked in tight behind you so that you couldn't lie on your back very easily I actually tried this but had terribly disturbed sleep as I had to wake up to turn over.

Apparently a trick to stop snorers sleeping on their backs is to sew a ping pong ball into the back of their pyjama tops so that if they roll on their backs they roll over again as it is so uncomfortable!

I am 32 weeks and it still happens to me. The pillow behind my back definately helps, I fold it and wedge it between me and DH to reduce the chance of it becoming lost in the mass of other pillows all over the bed. It drive DH crazy but its the only way.
The books say sleeping on your back can stop the passage of nutrients and it is best to lie on your left side if possible.

After meeting my DD, sleeping on my back again is the thing I am most looking forward to. I haven't slept properly for months!

Thanks for the replies. I'll try wedging myself in with pillows, see if that works. I'm not sure if I keep waking up because I'm on my back, or if I'd be waking up anyway. I have an appointment with the midwife next week, I'll mention it then too.

I have the same ?problem?. I asked the midwife and the nct instructor. They both said that if you wake up on your back it is your body telling you that you should move, so you wake up and move position!

The best position is on your left side but mainly to get the baby in the correct position for birth, so early on this isn?t a problem at all.

I think more important than everything is just getting sleep ? no matter what position you are in!

I bought a dreamgenii pregnancy pillow, and if i roll onto my back it wakes me up due the strange shape of it. That might help. It also gives support for bump and legs and back anyway, so is worth having. I found piling up pillows just fell out again.

I seem to always wake up on my back. At the start of pregnancy i would wake up with back ache and that would make me turn but as i have gone on in weeks i seem to wake on back and have to make myself turn.

I didnt realise it could cut of nutrients. Im 31 weeks and all checks baby has been a good size and moves about alot.

Is it a big worry? I dont have a pillow DH is a good substitute i prop myself up against him.

Ooooh yes, I'm 32 weeks and woke up flat on my back this morning, with a cat on my head (possibly not everybody gets this symptom during pregnancy!).

I didn't realise you could cut off nutrients to the baby- I was told that it's more that the baby squashes the main vein leading down the body (the vena cava? if GCSE biology serves me right..)

A seizure? How very scary for you OP!

Apparently it's enough to have your right hip slightly raised- so just put a pillow under it, or in a position where you will roll onto it.