Sleeping like a rotisserie hahah

I asked my OBGYN about this yesterday because I hate sleeping on my left. She said that sleeping on you right side is actually totally safe - only laying flat on your back is a big “no-no”. If you do want to lay on your back to wedge a pillow beneath one side so you’re atleast on an angle. Hope this helps!

Omg I literally just said this earlier. Like I toss and turn all night I end up on my back wake up in pain end up on my stomach and I can literally feel a bulge which is uncomfortable. Flip to either side and my hips hurt

I sleep on either side cause my arthritis acts up

is it even bad to sleep on
your back early in pregnancy? I am 14 weeks and didn’t know this

yes, no back sleeping from second trimester. There is a major vein the runs down your back on the right side and when you sleep on your back the weight of the baby and uterus puts pressure on that vein.

Here’s a quick Google explanation which is in line with what my OBGYN said:
“If you’re sleeping on your back it could reduce blood flow to your baby, potentially resulting in complications like decreased oxygen supply, preeclampsia, and fetal growth problems.”

If you wake up on your back, just turn to either side and try not to stress about it!

I was a total back sleeper (besides when I have had stomach issues- ALWAYS my left side for that) before my pregnancy, so the transition to sleeping on my side more frequently has been a challenge for me. I'm almost 16 weeks, and still working on this to the best of my ability, so I feel you!

And to add - I don’t think it matters AS much this early on, our babies are still pretty small at 14 weeks so more just good to get into the habit early so once they’re bigger it’s easier

I’m 14 weeks and I still sleep on my back sometimes I just sleep on whatever position I can get comfortable in

I was told not to worry about sleeping position until 28 weeks

interesting, I slept on my back with my first pretty much the whole pregnancy past 20 weeks, OB never said anything about it. Baby is healthy and literally running laps around the house at 11months 😵‍💫

it increases your risks - just like anything else. Doesn’t guarantee something bad will happen. And it just depends what risks everyone wants to take, but it’s better to make informed decisions.

So, apparently there's been new studies done showing that it doesn't really matter or increase risks in up until about 30 weeks. Although I was told to sleep how you're comfortable and your body will let you know if you're doing anything wrong before baby can be harmed as these are hypothesis based on "normal" human anatomy. Just restating what my OB told me. Sleeping while pregnant is already a huge pain. So don't worry my decisions are always informed and backed by research, especially as a health care professional myself ☺

that’s interesting, so your doctor contradicted the research? Unfortunately, if our bodies were reliable in letting us know, the stillbirth risk wouldn’t exist.

You’re totally welcome to your opinions, however I trust my OB saying not to do it, and that others will do their own research and speak to their own doctors to make their own informed decisions. Like I said in my above comment, at 14 weeks your baby isn’t heavy enough to compress that major artery, however it’s getting into the habit so once you do need to it’s not a huge and difficult.

No point going back and forth - again, this is just like any other risk during pregnancy. It’s not a guarantee that something will go wrong but there’s endless studies that show increased risk of stillbirth - and it sounds like you too have read (or atleast you’re referencing) those studies.

We ALL decide for ourselves what risks we are and are not willing to take. OP can make her own decisions 😊