sleeping

Why is it dangerous to sleep on your back?

Have you got a long body pillow? I used that and a duvet to cushion my whole body during my first pregnancy to help sleeping on my side.

It’s completely fine unless you are a heavy sleeper. It will make your hand and feet go numb and wake you up long before it can pose a threat to your baby. You will be unable to go past a couple hours on your back before it starts effecting you though so you will need to find a solution to be able to sleep in other positions. If you end up on your back or start off in your back that’s no problem

I wake up like every 2 hours so I think I'm ok!! and yes I haven't had any numbness!!

I slept on my back the whole pregnancy even tho i was told not to. My baby came out fine. But that was the only way i could sleep.

So I had the same issue. The only way I could do it without getting dizzy was to be sitting up like I was in a chair. Just make sure you have plenty of pillows and you’re not ignoring when things don’t feel right.

I had a wedge pillow that just slightly gave me an incline while on my back.

Hi! Do you put a pillow between your knees when you have tried to sleep on your side? (Left sided sleep is typically preferred too). You can put a smaller pillow (or wedge) under your bump on your left side too for added comfort - esp if bigger bump (after 7 months or so).

Pregnancy sleep is super uncomfortable. With later pregnancies I shake my head about what I thought was uncomfortable with my first! ;). Plus so tired I’d typically just crash even when pregnant with a toddler sleeping across my neck! Lol!

You and your doc know your body and your health best so you should feel good following your doc’s advice.

If your pre-natal follow-up’s indicate any decelerations in babies heart-rate here could be cord compression towards the end of pregnancy and your doc could tell you to only sleep on your left side - this happened with my third and in the end his cord was wrapped once around his neck too. Super freaky as I would often fall into a deep sleep when on my back....

I always wake up on my back in the night in a panic. I stuff pillows all over and wedge myself in before I go to sleep and sure enough I always wake up there lol

I’m surprised that I never heard about this or read about it during my pregnancy. I always either slept on my back or side, and my baby turned out ok. I never had any of those symptoms, but I didn’t sleep only on my back and I did switch positions sometimes in the middle of the night.

My doc told me to just wedge a pillow under one side so I’m not totally flat and that would be enough to keep enough blood flow going to the little one!

My Midwife said that as long as I start off by sleeping on my left side and if I happen to end up on my back it’s fine. I agree with most girls here - as long as you can wake yourself up and you’re not a heavy sleeper than you’ll be fine. I wake up every 3 or so hours to pee so I don’t have any issues. Lol

It’s ok if you wake up on your back just switch to either left side or right side left is the preferred side but obviously it can become uncomfortable so you can go onto your right side also you can get great information from www.tommys.org they have dedicated themselves into research into what causes miscarriages prom and still births so I advise looking up that website

Yes! My hips would burn! I usually slept elevated. I think as long as you’re not flat in your back, you’re ok

I have the same issue. My doctor said sleeping on your back is fine IF you’re propped up. I bought a big wedge pillow and it has helped me TONS. When I was sleeping on my side I would wake up every 45 minutes or so with shooting pains in my hips and eventually it would be too painful for me to sleep. Highly recommend a big wedge pillow!

I sometimes sleep in my recliner to help

Sleep in a recliner!! Changed my life!!

I slept on my back my entire pregnancy. By about 36 weeks I started sleeping elevated so I wasn't flat. My recliner worked well also but I hated sleeping alone.

Babe I would not worry about it. I'm no doctor, but I know sleeping on your back was actually RECOMMENDED about 10 years ago and we are all here to tell the tale! I don't think it's "dangerous" I think there's just some evidence to suggest it's a bit of a small risk compared to lying on your side. I was in absolute agony with my back/bump in the last few weeks and no position other than my back was comfortable. I obviously wouldn't be just laying on my back all night but I wouldn't beat myself up about giving myself a "rest" and enjoying 20 mins pain free. For all the other time id make a bit of a "valley" with my pillows; with my hip on the bed and my bump supported with the pillow xx