sleeping

So I know it's dangerous to sleep on your back while pregnant but that's literally the only way I'm comfortable or can sleep, has anyone experienced this??? I'm 35 weeks my back burns like unbearable when I'm on my side 😭

Read more on Peanut

The views expressed in community are solely the opinions of participants, and do not reflect those of Peanut.

Learn more about our guidelines.

Add a comment

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

in our community

Is it cheating

My husband just told me that at work he and his male friends/coworkers pinch each others nipples as like a joke, I think it’s inappropriate and it’s cheating in a way and he does not agree he thinks it’s just funny and nothings wrong with it

Front sleeping

My baby is 9 months old and I was told a while back that the sleep should always start in there back, is this true and why?
My baby always wants to front sleep now and I’m fighting every night to get the sleep to start on his back or side

Too much pram time?

LO is 15 months old. He's not walking yet. We've always gone for 2 walks a day, for about 30-45 mins each. I've found this helps LO's mood and also my own mental health. It's occurring to me that perhaps this is too much "container" time. When we're home, I encourage loads of floor time and he enjoys pulling to stand and cruising on furniture. His only other "container" time is in his high chair 4 times a day for meals, and for about 10 mins at a time when I'm getting his food ready, unless someone else is there to watch him (our flat is small and not open plan).

Is nursery a bit out of line?

Today I learned that my son was “seen by someone” when picking him up. Apparently speech therapist saw him in the nursery to evaluate him and I only learned about it on pick up.

No warning, no even proper explanation of what triggered it. With one staff member saying “he is not speaking at all”, and another dismissing it and saying it’s completely normal.

And everyone seem to dismiss my shock as he is the most chatty happiest child at home.

So it triggers me that instead of finding a way to get him “open up” and make him feel secure so he starts speaking naturally. They now decided he needs to be “fixed” and probably push him into more anxiety with it. Without even consulting us.

Witching hour??

Pretty sure my 7 week old has a strict “lose all chill at 6pm” policy 😅

Evenings = crying, pacing, questioning my life choices 😂

Fed, burped, cuddled… still a bit of a mystery. Any tips from mums who survived this stage? How did you get through the evening chaos?!

Naps!

My 12 (almost 13) week old little boy has only had two 30 minute naps today😢 he wasn’t fussy or crying, but would lay there grinning at me instead of sleeping. I tried rocking him but he would cry when being held… only wanted to be in his crib.
We finally got him to sleep when we went out in the car this evening and has gone down well now. Is this normal that he is fighting naps so much? He normally naps well during the day, either contact naps or in his crib! Any tips for if this happens again tomorrow?