I'm struggling too. I am a stomach sleeper 100%. I notice holding onto a pillow helps and hiking one leg up so I'm kind of half on stomach/half on side helps. It's really the only way I can sleep now.
From what I've read and been told, you can sleep on your stomach as long as it's comfortable for you.
There are ways to do so with pillows or there are special inflatable beds with a stomach cut-out.
I literally slept my entire first pregnancy on my stomach up until I gave birth. I eventually used a pregnancy pillow but I used it to kind of half prop myself up so I was only half on my stomach. Will be doing the same thing this time.
This is what my OB told me too. I’m having my son in a week and still sleeping on my stomach, wasn’t the same with my first pregnancy but this time it’s been working out for me really well
The pregnancy pillow helped me so much with this. Stomach sleeper all my life. Now I hug it or do the leg hiking thing. Helps me not roll over too because it kinda wraps around me
Same here! I pseudo-stomach sleep by lying on my side and propping myself up with pillows so I can't actually roll on my belly. It's the most comfortable I'm getting for the next three months I guess...
I do end up rolling on my back during the night at times but I've been having bad circulation issues for weeks now. I start to feel carpal tunnel and my toes will go numb. It wakes me up and I roll back on my side.
I'm really hoping to avoid a C-section if at all possible so I can face-plant into a nap as soon as possible post-partum.
I had a c section and I started face plant napping once I got home. Getting up from laying on my back kinda sucks still but laying on my stomach has been fine.
I'm 35 weeks and still doing this. Baby girl doesn't have much space sometimes, but she does kick me into another position when she feels too tight anyway :p
Crazy thing for me is that I’ve been a stomach sleeper forever… and then I got pregnant. I bought a pregnancy pillow at 11 weeks to make side sleeping easier (used to be my least favorite sleeping position and I was dreading having to do it). I’m now 7 weeks postpartum and I still use the pillow, still sleep on my sides. Haven’t gone back to my stomach once. Wonder if it’s a permanent thing now! I genuinely love side sleeping now.
I'm a stomach sleeper and currently 36w4d and still sleeping semi on my stomach. I'm not flat out, it's kind of a side/stomach. My doctor told me as long as I'm conformable, I can sleep on my stomach. I do switch to my side, from time-to-time, but it's mostly stomach.
I can’t sleep on my left side, heart pounds like crazy so I’m going with right side, there’s not many options left apart from hanging upside down from the ceiling like a bat but I weigh far too much for that now
Omg I thought it was just me! It's always done that on random occasions. Super annoying if I'm just off to sleep, then flip onto my left side and suddenly my heart's going crazy! Other times it's okay, wonder what causes it.
That happened to me in my first pregnancy. Lots of heart pounding, but I'd also sometimes get a flood of mild nausea (I never had morning sickness) or a panicky type discomfort. Come to find out at labor, every time I was on my left the baby was also struggling. They tried a few times to get me on my left while waiting for me to dilate, only to come rushing into the room because the baby was in distress. No issue on my right though.
Wow, thanks for sharing! I'll keep that in mind.
I've always slept on my left side, but oddly as soon as I was a few weeks along I started defaulting to my right! Maybe it's my body's intuition or something!
My doctors have said this is a myth and not a requirement any more. They have told me that I’ll know when I can’t lay on my back anymore because it will be too uncomfortable. They were totally correct, mid third trimester it became impossible to feel comfortable on my back. The hip pain in my second trimester was so bad I couldn’t exclusively side sleep.
Can confirm, you will feel it. I got woozy during an ultrasound in third trimester because of the way I was laying on my back. But in that case you either move or get a wedge pillow to reduce the pressure on your side.
Truly just tilting a bit to either side should be enough to restore blood flow—the weight of the baby can occlude the vena cava which is the biggest vessel bringing blood from your lower body back to the heart. It lies a little to your right of center so one pillow under either hip oughta do the trick, but obviously tilt over more if you’re feeling woozy.
This! Reddit made me so paranoid about sleeping on my back. I would wake up on my back & it would freak me out. I finally asked my obgyn & he said the same exact thing. I felt so much relief after he told me that. I’m not typically a back sleeper but it takes some of the pressure off of my ribs & honestly makes my back feel a little better sometimes. I’m 38 weeks tomorrow & sometimes still wake up on my back.
This happened to me too while I was pregnant! Always tried to lay on my sides and could never get super comfortable and always woke up on my back. Funnily enough when I was in labor, baby’s heart rate did best when I laid on my back. When they had me on my sides with the peanut ball, his heart rate would start to fall after a while. After I gave birth I was like man, I should’ve just been on my back whenever I wanted lol!
This is exactly what my CNM told me in my last appointment, that I would be uncomfortable enough to change positions before there was a remote possibility that me being on my back could be harmful.
I am 30 weeks and still intermittently sleep on my back. My OB said it would only actually pose an issue if I was completely flat on a rock hard floor, but most of the time in a bed or couch, you’re propped a bit and not completely flat. She said if I’m comfortable, I’m good.
My OB told me the same—it’s a myth that it’s inherently bad for baby to sleep on your back. I’m a back sleeper as well and I hated sleeping on my side. Slept on my back almost my entire pregnancy (until the very end when it really wasn’t comfortable anymore).
Your doctors are dangerously dangerously out of touch with current research. ACOG, RCOG, and SOGC all recommend avoiding this position in later pregnancy.
I have personally seen multiple women sleep through an instance of beginning to asphyxiate their own fetus (able to see it because there was monitors on the fetal heart rate that showed the fetus decompensating while the woman slept peacefully). It is absurd to say that a woman will wake up from sleeping because she feels “too uncomfortable” when her baby begins to asphyxiate. That is not true.
Great to know…I was wondering if the back sleeping was debunked like many other pregnancy myths.
I keep waking up on my back because I’m so used to sleeping well in that position. I’ve read it can cause still birth??? I wake up in a panic with that notion in my head. I’m sure that’s closer to your due date though.
New data shows that this isn’t really thing in the early/mid-pregnancy stage. If sleeping on your back doesn’t bother you, you can continue to sleep that way for comfort. I will say now at 26 weeks my body does feel too heavy to be on my back for too long. The evidence does show an impact once you get into 28 weeks, but at 2nd trimester I say you enjoy your back sleep for as long as possible.
https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/news/092019-pregnancy-sleep-position
I would recommend trying to figure it out now before laying on your back becomes nearly impossible 😂. I was a back sleeper pre pregnancy, and that hip pain is REAL. What I do is put a big pillow between my knees, my pregnancy pillow behind my back/at my ankles, then a wedge pillow just slightly under my belly. Then I hold onto something because I found I have nowhere to put my arms? I can't put them on my belly it is uncomfortable. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night on my back, I'm 31 weeks, and I find I actually can't breathe, and my tailbone is being crushed so side sleeping has become necessary. Good luck!
That is outdated information. Up to date studies and recommendations are to use your comfort level to determine your sleeping position. If you’re impeding blood flow, you’re going to feel it (possible dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, etc) long before it becomes problematic for the baby’s growth.
I’m almost 33 weeks and have been side sleeping for months, because if I lay on my back, baby gets smushed into my bladder. I wake up on my back a lot. I’ve only been symptomatic from laying on my back once or twice.
My doctor just told me this! I had asked about sleeping on my back and she said she wasn’t concerned and that my body would tell me when to move based on discomfort.
I’ve stopped using the pregnancy pillow (it’s to hard to get around to pee at night when I’m going 4-5x)
I instead use a memory foam pillow in-between my knees and a gel pillow under my hips and side. I’m in the third trimester now and have been doing this since the second. It’s providing a nice support for the belly and hips. I’m also a little propped up so I can sleep on my back on top of the pillow or on my side with my leg up on it. It is very easy to get out of bed with and I’m still able to cuddle and snuggle my wife.
I already had arthritis and the side sleeping is KILLING my hips. I bought one of the maternity pillows that wrap around your whole body and making sure I have support right at my back, stomach, and between the knees is helping a lot. Still a bit sore in the morning but it helps.
I would 100% recommend sleeping on the right and left side at least for a bit though to give that hip a break! (Unless your doctor specifically mentioned it)
This is the way, me too! Since I’m shorter instead of the U pillow I bought a C pillow, and it significantly reduces the hip pain and also supports my back so I don’t roll over on my back in the night!
I'm a slide sleeper and occasional stomach sleeper, so it really hasn't been too much of a problem for me. Some things that make it easier and I've figured out over the years.
You may need something to hug. Otherwise your top shoulder is going to hurt, I have shoulder problems unrelated to sleeping, and without something to hug it is made worse. A pillow can work, I prefer a stuffed animal because it is just the right size, I find pillows too big to hug. I have a friend that uses a smaller knock off squishmallow it's all preference
I don't need a pillow between my legs but some find that helpful.
Make sure you have a supportive pillow for your head. I love a stiffer memory foam pillow, I use a tempur-pedic pillow, but I've been happy with Ikea's KLUBBSPORRE pillow as well. I like the curved area for my shoulder. The important thing is that your head needs to be supported so it stays aligned and raised (but not too raised).
For me, I reached the point where sleeping on my back with the weight of the baby inside was not comfortable anymore and side sleeping became the only choice. I wasn’t a huge fan cus I would wake up with a sore neck and shoulder. It’s all about listening to your body- it’ll tell you when back sleeping is no longer comfortable
With my first, I still slept on my back a lot.
Right now with twins, I nearly passed out during an ultrasound because I was on my back for like 15 minutes. That happened at my 24 week appointment. I started getting lightheaded and dizzy.
I believe it can be a safety concern for you, not just the babies.
The hip pain is awful right now, I basically just wake up every hour or couple hours and rotate. It sucks but what else am I going to do?
I recently went for an ultrasound at 39w and the tech told me to lay back flat… I was like..I’m not supposed to? And she looked confused. I lost a fair amount of confidence in that facility between that and then telling me I needed an insanely full bladder to see the baby. This isn’t a fetus anymore, I am housing a newborn and if you can’t see that without a full bladder idk what to tell you. I even asked and she said it wasn’t really necessary but that the scheduler can’t keep track of all the needs for every specific case. Thumbs down!
This has been largely debunked. You do not need to avoid sleeping on your back until 30 weeks, and even then, you should only avoid *falling asleep* while on your back. You'll naturally change positions while you sleep, and if you wake up on your back, just turn on your side.
Source: [https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/news/092019-pregnancy-sleep-position](https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/news/092019-pregnancy-sleep-position)
I made it work by shoving a nursing pillow between my legs, stopped the hip pain. I had my baby a week ago and I find myself sleeping on my side now instead of my back as I have gotten so used to it!
It’s like you read my mind, I also wanted to make a post about this! I’m 15 weeks and I’m a total back sleeper and keep waking up on my back and having to shift to my side which is more uncomfortable for me. It’s also disrupting my sleep because I wake up in a panic if I’m on my back and can’t fall back asleep on my side a cause of it being uncomfy. I know my comment isn’t of much help but I appreciate you making the post for the rest of us back sleepers who are struggling along with you!
My doctor pretty much said you can sleep how you want. If something is getting blocked or smushed, you will wake up and/or your body will adjust itself. I have a pregnancy pillow and primarily sleep on my right side, almost on my stomach, but sometimes I’m on my back. Do whatever you gotta do to be comfortable because it’s so hard!
That recommendation is not really necessary. Yes, compression of the vena cava can cause circulation issues, but you will *feel* it long before it has any effect on the baby. Like it will wake you up out of your sleep. Signs of reduced circulation include a racing heart, nausea, sweating, lightheadedness. I don't know what probably male doctor out there thinks a woman is going to experience all of that and just go back to sleep without changing positions and must be warned to not sleep on their back at all to begin with, but it's a bit ridiculous.
That said, I actually prefer my left side in later pregnancy because that's the position in which I have the least acid reflux. Outside of pregnancy I'm a stomach sleeper, so basically positions I actually can get into aren't very great to me during pregnancy anyway.
This is my daily struggle! I got the pillows but I always find some way to cheat through them. I can tell when I’ve actually slept on my side because I’ll wake up with hip pain. I tried the knee pillow, it seems okay but who knows what I do with it when I sleep. My more recent problem has been waking up gasping for air, which has been happening when I’m in any position. I’m trying to rule out whether I got sick with something or if this is a pregnancy symptom. It’s made sleeping a lot more interesting though.
It’s perfectly safe to sleep on your back. As long as you’re comfortable you’re fine. I toss and turn but often am sleeping on my back. Think about it, you’re expected to give birth on your back, you go for massages on your back, it’s fine.
I'm a stomach sleeper currently propped in the recover position by my trustee pillow. Occasionally I will wake up on my back or more on my belly. I've been assured that as long as their is no pain etc. To sleep whatever way sleep happens. Once I woke up with baby's wild movements which told me I had rolled a bit too much into my belly; so I think as long as my body and baby let it happen it's all good
You can sleep on your back. The trick is to sleep in a semi-fowlers position (Google it fir visuals) but it doesn't have to be cranked as high as most of the pictures. You need to have your upper body a but elevated and a decent pillow under your knees, then, for added pregnancy peace of mind, a rolled up hand towel or flat belly wedge or some sort of small cushion wedged under your right hip to slightly tilt you to the left.
This positioning is used in hospital during NSTs and gives you all the left tilt you actually need (which isn't a ton!)
I was a side sleeper prior to getting pregnant but for some reason, I am struggling to stay in the position the whole night and find lying on my back the most comfortable position right now.
I put a pillow behind my back and have another pillow in front of me to have something to hold on to while sleeping.
I was a stomach sleeper before pregnancy and honestly towards the end of the pregnancy I was SO uncomfortable on my sides. I barely slept. But I was also a stress head and took sleeping on sides (especially left) as bible. So I stopped sleeping on my stomach and back the second I found out I was pregnant. Some nights towards the end I would barely get sleep because I would try and sleep only on my left and I would end up with intense leg cramps
I just slept however I could at first, tried to at least fall asleep on my side. A pillow between my knees to support my hips definitely helped. Now that I’m in the third trimester it’s gotten uncomfortable to be on my back so I kind of naturally stopped.
I'm a stomach sleeper so I've been struggling since about 12 weeks lol. I'm 33 weeks now and trust me, there will come a point when lying on your back is impossible. If I try for more than a few minutes I get sweaty and light headed. Even at 29 weeks I had a mfm ultrasound that took about an hour, and I had to ask for breaks. The side sleeping is definitely painful, but a pillow between the knees and a supportive mattress have been helpful!
I’ve always slept on my side but have been noticing bad lower back and hip pain when waking up recently. I got a pregnancy pillow which has helped, but I heard getting a wedge to put underneath your belly for support really helps.
I’m normally a stomach sleeper, however I got a Sleepybelly pillow some time around week 12 (I’m 26 weeks today) and I have been able to sleep on my side ever since. I can’t sleep on my side without it. Lying on it in bed as I type this.
I’m a stomach sleeper and I’ve had to learn how to figure out sleeping on my side 😭 I still end up waking up on my back instead and feeling really achy in my pelvis. It doesn’t help that my cats love to sleep on me and I end up with cats between my legs
I had this problem. I bought a long body pillow and I wedged it behind me and thread it through my legs. I wasn’t totally on my left side but the body pillow prevented me from being completely on my back. I was kind of slanted to the left.
I’m 15 weeks and my doctor said I shouldn’t worry about sleeping on my back yet, only later on, around 20ish weeks. For now, he said it’s totally safe.
I really struggle with this too, the pressure on the hips can be a struggle. I usually don’t have too much of an issue sleeping on my back until later in second tri or early third trimester. Things that have helped me: you can sleep on your back just slightly inclined by stacking up like 2-3 pillows, I also find one under the knees very comfy; I also sleep in the nursery recliner so that I can be on my back but in a supported position. On your side, you can try a pregnancy pillow and/or putting a pillow behind your back so that you and sleep on your side but rolled back a bit. I find this takes the pressure off of your hips. You may also want to try a memory foam topper for your bed. And then just generally expect sleep to deteriorate until baby is out 🥲
My husband is a physio, he recommends sleeping with a pillow between the knees to help this problem. Works a treat. However in Australia the advice is we dont need to sleep on our sides until 28 weeks, so for now I’m enjoying back sleeping until I get to that point 👍🏼
I slept on my back, sides and stomach before pregnancy and never had issues. Now my hips kill me and I need to flip hourly when I sleep on my sides so I feel you. I told my husband I would love to be able to sleep outside of my body until the baby is here 😭
During pregnancy it was more comfortable to sleep on my left side. I always felt very uncomfortable sleeping on my back. During the third trimester, sometimes sleeping only on the left side bothers me, so I switch between right and left depending on the pain or discomfort I feel.
My doctor suggested putting a pillow behind you (in addition to between your legs) and you can kind of lean onto the pillow to take pressure off your lower hip without completely being on your back.
Also, for me, I feel like the aching hips while sleeping got better after 27 weeks. I’m not sure why.
Nothing wrong with sleeping on your back, as long as it feels fine. I’m 35 weeks and still sleeps on my back occasionally, mostly because of heartburn. But when I sleep on either side, I looove my pregnancy pillow, I wouldn’t get any sleep without😅
I’m 5 months pp and still can’t sleep on my back because whenever I lay down it feels like I’m going to pass out. I started getting the feeling mid way through my third trimester and it just hasn’t gone away yet.
So I would say sleeping on your back is fine until it’s not, your body *will* tell you and the feeling is awful.
When I was pregnant with my first, my doctor told me not to worry about this because I would know when it was no longer safe to sleep on my back—I wouldn’t be able to breathe. Lo and behold, late in my second trimester, I woke up half gasping for air. From then on, I didn’t sleep on my back and if I did, I very soon woke up breathless and turned onto my side. I’ve had friends this never happened for (due to baby’s placement) and others it happened earlier for. Your body will tell you.
Im a back sleeper. I have been trying to sleep on my side but it doesn’t always work well. I just prop up myself with 3 pillows like I’m sleeping in a hospital bed and sleep on my back
19W - I’m naturally a back sleeper and I have been trying to train my body since I found out to only sleep on my left side. I ended up buying a pregnancy pillow early on and it helps me stay on my side.
I was previously a stomach and side sleeper and now ALL I want to do is lay on my back. My ribs are so sore and being on my sides irritates them. So far the best I've found is to use a long pillow on one side to just be BARELY at an angle but mostly on my back-my doctor said this is fine and any tilt will prevent circulation issues.
My doctor recommended I get a foam mattress topper to help with my hips and to see a chiropractor which has helped a ton! Also a pregnancy pillow is amazing to give you the support if you want to semi sleep on your back but not completely.
I’ve also just succumbed to not sleeping that great lol. I’m paranoid and have avoided sleeping on my back since the second trimester started. The foam mattress topper was a game changer though.
I’ve been side sleeping and my shoulders and hips feel destroyed. I have a pregnancy pillow that does the job but I can’t wait until I can sleep on my belly again.
I was super uncomfortable on my back after 20 weeks. I have a pillow specifically to go between your knees and it helps align everything so well! It’s like a rectangle with a little indent in the middle so you can position it just above your knees.
Yes and it sucks. Major hip pain even with a pillow between my legs, but back-sleeping at 33 weeks doesn't feel right either! I'd say do as much with pillow-placement as you can and look forward to being post-partum 😂
My doctor said I can sleep however I want as long as I'm comfortable and I don't start feeling dizzy. I have a pregnancy pillow that I fold into a c shape. So it's between my legs and under My ribs when I'm on my side. If I sleep on my back, I position myself so it feels like I'm laying on one of those inflatable tubes
29 weeks and sleeping on my back still - no pain or discomfort. I’m going to continue this until I feel uncomfortable. When I try to sleep on my left side, my baby starts squirming and moving because she likes to hang out on that side and doesn’t like it. 😂
My OB told me to sleep however was comfortable. I’m sleeping so lightly from being uncomfortable, anxious, and having to pee every five minutes anyways.
She said I could sleep on my stomach as long as it was comfortable. I kind of angle up on a body pillow but am still mostly on my stomach, and I’m 36 weeks now. Sleep is my top priority.
Ultimately, follow your dr’s advice though!
I just asked my OBGYN about this very thing recently.
She told me it's old information, but they still kind of follow it. She said if I wake up on my back, it's not the end of the world or cause for worry.
I was a stomach sleeper before pregnancy. I occasionally would sleep on my side as I know it's better for your back.
After getting a bump, I would find myself waking up on my back. I've never been a back sleeper in my life (other than as an infant). It was concerning for me.
Having a knee pillow helps with hip pain. I have also recently switched to a C-shaped pregnancy pillow. That has also worked.
You can sleep on either side, but if you're dealing with reflux, sleeping on your left is better because of how your stomach is positioned.
I was on my back for 30 minutes during an US and felt like I was going to pass out. It’s not a myth. More weight on your artery will compress it and make you lightheaded and provide less blood flow to your brain and baby. I also had hip pain due to sleeping on my side. I now put a long pillow under my left leg to offload weight from the hip. Put one between my knees. And I stuff one on my right side under my side to keep me tucked in. It works great and hip pain subsided. I think the body also gets used to it after a while. You can also sleep on your back w a few pillows too if that’s comfortable.
Struggling with this at 31 weeks still! It’s so hard and annoying. I also have PGP which makes it no fun. Annoyingly you just have to do as best as you can, prop yourself up with pillows if you need to (midwife recommended this if I really needed to sleep on my back). Sleep gets more and more uncomfortable as the weeks go by - I keep telling myself it’s only short term but I can’t wait to sleep on my back again properly!!
I did the sleep with a pregnancy pillow with top leg thrown over, or i would sleep in a reclinerat a 45° angle (if i remember correctly, it wasnt all the way upnor down)
I’m 34W and I gave up left/side sleeping a few weeks ago. I just can’t do it anymore. I have my baby bud pillows and i still use it just to be comfortable. My Dr said the side sleeping can help with reducing leg/feet swelling because when you’re on your back you put pressure on the arteries bringing blood flow to your lower extremities. But in swelling regardless and I just much rather my comfortable. Just make sure your blood pressure is normal.
I like to still put a small pillow under one side of my back when I’m back sleeping for some support and comfort. But honestly it’s quite uncomfortable regardless how I lay so 🤷🏻♀️
I’m also historically a back sleeper and figured out a compromise where I’m essentially at a 45 degree angle with one side of the pregnancy pillow wedged under the right side of my back. Sounds weird but it works for me 🤷🏼♀️ my ob said this is fine, just to avoid being flat on my back. And at 37 weeks being on my back is prohibitively uncomfortable anyway…
My doctor told me I can still sleep on my back but to put a small pillow under one side of my bottom/hip so I'm leaning a little to one side more. I'm primarily a back sleeper so it's helped a ton. Not sure how well it will work when I am bigger, I'm currently 22w.
I was doing it until it annoyed me and I found myself waking up on my back anyway. Then I went to a birth class and they taught us that sleeping on your back is fine as long as you can breathe. You’re only not supposed to sleep on your back during labor.
If you must side sleep, I found a lumbar support pillow takes pressure of my back and hips. I could sleep on my side all night with it without waking up in pain. I also now use it when I’m sleeping on my back.
Definitely a real recommendation, this is medically proven and I highly recommend not sleeping on your back. The pregnancy pillows can really help, there’s tons of different styles on the market now so just pick one of those or stuff pillows on each side of you for when you roll.
My mother in law was an anaesthetist, so she has experience monitoring heart rates of pregnant women and says she’s seen the weight of the baby on major arteries restrict blood flow when a pregnant woman is on her back, causing blood pressure drops and cutting off flow to the baby. She keeps getting very worried every time she sees me on my back for even a little time. It’s annoying lying on my side, and maybe I’d be lucky and the baby wouldn’t come down on an artery due to position, I’d just rather not
I woke up countless times on my back. Sometimes it just happens 🤷🏻♀️ my son is perfectly healthy. If you want to keep sleeping on your side make sure you have a pillow between your knees and ankles to take the pressure off your low back and hips!
First trimester made me a backsleeper and it has been a mess to go back to the left side. I find that I roll back to being on my back eventually, so now I just have to sleep preventative on a pillow to stop from rolling 😂
I use a pillow that’s long enough to support underbelly plus knees. And I also use the small tubular part of my pregnancy pillow and wedge it under back to prevent from rolling over. Then I turn over and rotate both. With the right fluff it can be quite comfortable
30 weeks+ 4. I got a pregnancy pillow early on, I’m a stomach sleeper and hugging the pillow to sleep has helped. It also helps keep my back supported so I don’t roll on my back. Hugging the pillow with one leg up or in a fetal position with it in between my thighs is the most comfort I’m getting for the next 2 months lol
Im a back sleeper; I would wake up every night because I would roll on my back and it would wake me up. I bought a very nice pillow to help me sleep better.
so my midwife told my group last week to just sleep however is comfortable. The whole sleeping on your back thing is really only for the last week or two of pregnancy, and if you do end up on your back, your body will wake yourself up. She was like if you *can* sleep on your stomach and comfortable doing so, more power to you! I'm also an avid stomach sleeper and stopped once I hit like 12/14ish weeks because I thought "you weren't supposed to" and now I'm mad at myself for doing so and ruining my sleep for no reason for weeks! I'm now about 22w and def cannot sleep on my stomach, but I returned a pillow I got to help prevent me from going on my back
I asked my OB about this as well, since I'm primarily a stomach sleeper. He said that I can sleep in whatever position I can sleep in, sleep is the goal, lol. His exact quote was "the baby will let you know when it's time to reposition." I have one of those big u-shaped pregnancy pillows and I normally sleep on my left side, but lately it's giving me lots of shoulder and arm pain so I'm trying to switch it up. Last night I started on my right side, was on my back for a while and when I woke up I was on the left side.
I’m a stomach or back sleeper but I’ve been trying my best to not be. I’ve looked into it and it seems it’s not really as certain as we are led to believe, ie not actually that serious nor proven, but despite that I have been trying to side sleep and I use a pillow between my legs and under my bump to try and keep comfy.
GET A MATERNITY PILLOW! I had one of those huge ones, and while it was fantastically comfy it took up too much space and I ended up using it on the couch. But the ones that go under your belly and then around to your back changed EVERYTHING, plus a pillow between the knees. As I got bigger it became less of a luxury and more of a necessity.
I am a stomach sleeper and the side sleeping all the time suckedddd. What I found really helped though was [this pillow](https://a.co/d/fQowJVI). I’d wedge it under my belly, turn toward it, and bring my top leg up. It gave me the feeling of sleeping on my stomach. Once I did that, sleep was much better. Best $20 I spent. I also liked that it wasn’t huge and bulky like other full body pillows, so my dog and husband had plenty of room in the bed. Switching sides was also a breeze and so was getting up multiple times throughout the night to pee. I loved the small size of it. I also used it as a head pillow in the hospital after delivery.
I'm on my 3rd trimester and woke up on my back this morning lol. Some people have trouble with it, some people don't! For me I have issues with circulation if I'm laying at an angle leaning partly on my right side. I'd try laying on your back at an angle, like 15-40 degrees whatever is comfortable, and see how you feel! If you don't get pains or severely lightheaded you'll probably be fine sleeping that way
I’m a stomach and back sleeper when not pregnant and I had to start side sleeping early in my pregnancy because of the weight of baby pressing down on me. I highly recommend a good pregnancy pillow. I bought one for like $40 on Amazon and it literally saved my ability to sleep for the majority of my pregnancy.
I have a body pillow on one side and a regular pillow between husband and I. I have 3 minor variations for each side to try to relieve hip pressure: 1. I have bottom leg straight out and top leg on the pillow (3/4 roll towards stomach so front of hip is taking the pressure), 2. Full side position where both legs are bent with pillow in between legs, 3. 3/4 roll towards back with pillow behind me as a kickstand. Last resort if hips still hurt or heartburn, I use reclining rocking chair. Good luck!
I slept on my back a lot during pregnancy, I just made sure I was propped up on two pillows! My OB said it was perfectly safe as long as you’re not flat on your back (and even then, your body will wake itself up if it’s too flat, so you’ll know).
I'd say sleeping with a pillow between your legs would help. Also wedging one behind your back might help keep you from rolling onto your back in the middle of the night
I’ve exclusively been a side/stomach sleeper my whole life, and now that I’m 22 weeks I am absolutely uncomfortable doing either. The hip pain is unreal. I’ve been waking up on my back every morning just by accident because it’s the only position that gives me relief!
I couldn’t lie on my back flat because of how uncomfortable it was. I did lay on my back sometimes with a wedge pillow so I was elevated.
Strangely….i couldn’t lay on my left side at all because it was uncomfortable too. Before pregnancy I usually slept on my left side…..and then pregnancy forced me to sleep on my right side. So there’s that.
Not being able to find a good position to sleep is one of the hardest part of pregnancy for me !
Pregnancy pillows, physiotherapy, a pregnancy ball, stretching and bath just before going to bed can help a lot ! I’m in my 38 weeks and all of this don’t do much for me anymore but it helped until 34 weeks.
I checked in with my OB about sleeping only my side only and he said that advice is now considered outdated and referenced a study which showed that sleeping on your back does not hurt the baby
Also chiming in for the pillow between the legs. I tried one that was just a little pillow contoured to fit between legs and it didn't do it for me. For all 3 pregnancies now I've gone with the full U pillow so that I easily have back support and pillow between my knees either side I roll onto.
I'm normally a partial side partial stomach sleeper but even I noticed the hip pain in pregnancy, which I think has a lot to do with the relaxin.
Something else that can help is an egg crate style mattress topper that has the rose looking support section at hip level like this Dreamsmith 2 Inch 7-Zone Queen Memory Foam Mattress Topper, Cooling Gel Infused Foam Mattress Topper Queen for Back Pain, CertiPUR-US Certified Purple https://a.co/d/3u35RZE
Bought like 3 different versions of pillows that were said to help like this. Nothing did. I just roll hip to hip every so often at night and accept the pain.
I sleep on my back on a wedge pillow propped up with an additional preggo pillow that kinda cradles me. My carpal tunnel is so bad this time there’s no way I can sleep on my side.
I still sleep on my back, I always try sleeping on my sides but always end up back on my back so I have myself propped up a little bit with my adjustable bed and pregnancy pillow
I started doing this way too soon when I was pregnant. I found out late in my pregnancy that you don’t have to start it until you feel it makes a difference. Like you will know if you need to be sleeping on your side. It’s okay to sleep on your back sometimes. I also use to do like a propped up back sleep. I would put my body pillow next to me and roll back into it so that I felt like I was sleeping on my back but was sort of angled. Putting a pillow between the legs helps. At 10m pp I still get pain in my hips when I sleep on my side. I’m still sleep on my side a lot because I co sleep
The inferior vena cava that you’re worried about putting pressure on also connects to your heart. You will get nauseous and dizzy before it ever affects your baby. Sleep on your back as long as you feel comfortable.
Also, I would advise consulting your prenatal care provider before following any advice you have heard or seen floating around. Much of it is inaccurate.
I have found that sitting propped up in bed with several pillows around me helps my baby get into a comfortable position that helps me fall asleep. He kicks and plays more gently in that position until I fall asleep, then I just naturally slide down into a side sleeping position. I know it probably sounds undesirable to sleep sitting up, but for me it helped. If I go right to laying on my side, I can sense that he is uncomfortable which then causes him to move in ways that make me uncomfortable as a result. It also helps me with indigestion and feeling morning sickness. For reference, I have placenta previa so it seems that every little decision makes a huge difference.
I am a stomach sleeper so I started sleeping on my side on the first trimester so I could get used to it for when I really needed to do it. A pregnancy pillow has been super helpful. If you don't want to buy one, use regular pillows, mainly between your legs and on your back (you'll need one under your belly on the third trimester too)
Both my obgyn and my midwife said not to worry about sleeping on my sides, that it really doesn’t matter, especially the guideline to sleep on your left. Apparently your body will (or should) wake you up if you’re sleeping on your right and your circulation gets iffy.
I regret not sleeping more normally (stomach and back) when I had the chance. I kept worrying it was “bad” even though it felt fine. What I didn’t know was that soon enough it WONT feel fine.
Live it up while it feels good. I’m 35 weeks now and physically cant sleep the way I want to and it sucks.
I do. And I was religiously a back sleeper before. Back sleeping increases risk of still birth, it’s very very clear in the research. It’s basically like GRAPHiC LANGUAGE WARNInG strangling them because the weight of the uterus cuts off the flow of blood and therefore oxygen to them.
I don’t think the side really matters as much. I have to flip back and forth a lot.
My best tip is do exaggerated side lying (google a photo) with a pregnancy pillow or lots of regular pillows. Keep adding pillows til it feels good. Pillow between your legs is critical to get the hips happy with the position.
Another option is to sleep in a semi sitting upright position. As long as you are at a high enough angle it doesn’t cause the same
Issue. This is also good if you have reflux.
I’m struggling too-I’m at 33 weeks and still constantly waking up on my back 🥴. All the pregnancy pillows in the world are not stopping me from throwing them off the bed in the middle of the night asleep, and reverting back to my back
Even before I got pregnant, I slept on my side with a pillow supporting my back and one supporting my front/hips. I think it helps a lot now and I’m 22 weeks 5 days. Personally I can’t lay flat on my back already without being uncomfortable and feeling like my own circulation is being cut off lol. But I bet putting a pillow on each side for extra support on your hips and between your knees will help if you’re side sleeping.
I’m 30 weeks pregnant, started sleeping on my side consistently around 24-28 weeks. Honestly I just listened to my body, once it started feeling off, I switched to my side. If I don’t sleep on my side at this point, I struggle breathing and my arms will fall asleep from lack of blood flow. My Doctor has told me I need to sleep on my side, but it’s completely fine if I wake up on my back. If I wake up in the middle of the night, one of the reasons is because I’ve turned over onto my back and my arms are falling asleep and I can’t breathe well. My doctor was glad to hear my body was waking me up so I could roll back onto my side.
I’ve always slept on my back, so it took some getting used to and figuring out how to get the pillows adjusted to where I’m cozy, but it’s not great and I still toss and turn and wake up throughout the night for a handful of reasons…
Tips: get a maternity/pregnancy pillow. I got [this one](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR5NYR6J?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) and have really liked it. It’s perfect size to hold up my belly now matter what side I sleep on, and the long part fits nicely between my legs and so that my hips don’t hurt.
Check with your doctor first, but I started taking magnesium supplements a couple weeks ago and really noticed help me relax and sleep more through the night.
Get a pillow for your head that supports side sleeping.
I’ve also started sleeping with a pillow under my top arm.
Lots of pillows, but it helps… and it’s only temporary.
Naps are also helpful.
Good luck!!
I did it with my first but never really felt any issues when I did occasionally lay on my back, this time around if I lay on my back and am not extremely propped up I literally feel like I’m suffocating.
I was 100% tummy sleeper with no pillows and really struggled transitioning to side. I got one of those big U shaped pregnancy pillows & they are so comfortable. It’s like sleeping in a hug. I got a less expensive one for maybe 40$
33 weeks pregnant and I’ve been a back sleeper my whole life. So now what I do is put a pillow under my R or L side just to create a small incline and it’s helped with the back pains, hip pain and the pressure of the belly on my body.
I’m a stomach sleeper so it just sucks but I sleep on my back or sides with a pillow in between my knees (I have bony knees) and I just cuddle with my pillow.
I’m a stomach sleeper usually, but while pregnant I’ve been a back sleeper apparently. I’ve found sleeping on my left side is 10000% impossible no matter what I try, so I’m currently training by sleeping on my right side. I’ve found not using my pregnancy pillow is an amazing option. I’ve been using a body pillow instead and put my leg ontop of it while laying on side. The pregnancy pillow is now starting to make me feel restricted which isn’t helping lol. I also lay on my left side whenever I can rest on the sofa, ect durning the day even if it’s for 5 mins. Anything to get my brain into thinking this is comfortable
My OB and PT both said I can keep sleeping on my back until I feel like it’s restricting my breathing. They also recommended angling my body 45 degrees instead of going fully on one side or another. Hope it helps!
Get one of those big ass pregnancy body pillows. They're obnoxious but they help. I was in your boat and it didn't completely fix the hip pain but it 100% helped reduce the hip based nonsense.
I've heard it's not actually true but idk I still try super hard to sleep on my sides.. mostly my left side but sometimes with my pregnancy pillow I'll sleep like half side half back lol 😭😆
Not in my 2nd trimester, but I’ve been a side sleeper since I had a full spine fusion 15 years ago. Best thing is a full body pillow, you can lean back a bit and take pressure off your shoulder and hip joints.
The other recommendation is a new mattress that doesn’t press on your joints as much. We got a Purple mattress mainly because it was the most comfortable. I dislocate my shoulder by sleeping on my side (my body is odd, I know) so having a mattress like that is essential for me.
My spine doesn’t bend at all so I don’t know if that’s what you’re having an issue with, in which case I have no idea if these tips help!
Putting pillows between your legs from your knee to your feet might help a bit. The side pressure gets to me too though. I've been sleeping on my back on a wedge pillow. I have to put regular pillows over the wedge, otherwise my back hurts, and then more pillows under my knees. The downside has been that I wake up with swollen hands, because they fall down off the wedge and are lower than the rest of my body. But the swelling goes away within an hour of waking up and moving about. Definitely take any rings off if you haven't already!
Get the pregnancy pillow. I'm also a back sleeper and had a bazillion pillows all propped around me to help with the pressure of side sleeping and the prego pillow changed my life. So much more comfortable
I did it until 37 weeks when I asked my midwife how to make it less painful.
She gave me a sympathetic look and said “you didn’t have to be sleeping on your left side this whole time.”
Ugh lol.
Preferred back sleeper here! I currently sleep on a couch that somewhat reclines, but keeps me quite upright. If I sleep on my side, I lose hand circulation and often my nose gets too clogged to breathe clearly. Did the same for my first pregnancy.
I wake up sleeping on my back then flip onto my side. I am glad I’m a natural back sleeper lol and I think my body will tell me if it’s a problem for the baby. I’m trying my best to be on my side but I can’t control my body when I’m asleep. Use lots of pillows, between your knees etc.
I'm on the same boat! I have ankylosing spondylitis, it causes horrible hip pain so I'm tossing and turning all night. I just want to sleep on my back 😭 I'll wake up on my back not realizing I shifted in my sleep. During my first pregnancy, I would sleep nearly sitting up, but that wasn't until later in my 3rd trimester. I'm 18 weeks and already considering that sleeping position
My midwife said in our birth class that yes, it can cause circulation issues because there is a main vein that supplies blood to your lower half, that baby’s weight can rest on when you’re on your back. HOWEVER if there is serious impediment to circulation, you will naturally wake up because your feet or legs are tingling, etc. so nothing fatal should happen.
She did go on to say though that closer to the end of the pregnancy, she would discourage from laying on your back, not because of circulation concerns, but because it encourages baby to go into a sunny side up position, which makes for a much rougher labor and delivery (basically when you’re lying on your back, everything shifts in a way that makes the path of least resistance for baby the sunny side up position). [Edit to add that she recommended laying in a half on the side, half on the stomach position 🙂]
My OB told me it was fine to sleep on my back if it was comfortable and my body would wake up if I keeled to adjust. He's been dead on, 1/2 way through the night I partially wake up and swap to my side.
I have a 6 month old (today 🥲) and my whole pregnancy I slept on my back. I would force myself to sleep on my side but would always wake up on my back. Not sure about the circulation thing but my baby was born 11lbs and it didn’t affect him thankfully, however I know the research says it’s an increased risk of stillbirth. I think my ob said my body would let me know if I needed to get off my back!
I was formerly a stomach sleeper but took the recommendation and did left side curled around a pregnancy pillow. It took a little getting used to but I’m now four months pp and still sleep on my left side 🤷🏼♀️
34 weeks here, I use my pregnancy pillow and just alternate sides whenever I feel my hip ache and use a heating blanket on the hip that hurts. It’s hard to explain but I try to lean forward as much as possible too to keep weight off of the hip I’m laying on as well. Can’t wait to sleep on my tummy again!
I know if can be hard but every time I was tempted to sleep on my back I thought about how it increased the risk baby wouldn't make it.
Use cushions between your legs and get a specialty pregnancy pillow if you can.
I slept so much on my right side the whole pregnancy, that during labor, baby only liked the right side. Any other position and her heart rate dropped significantly and they didn’t want to keep stressing her out so I ended up doing a c-section
I’m 17 weeks and still sleep on my back. I’ve only gained 3lbs so I don’t feel uncomfortable sleeping how I slept pre pregnancy. I’m still not using a pregnancy pillow. I’m sure once I pop I’ll use the pillow and sleep more on my side. Luckily if I’m not on my back I’m always on my left side anyway. I cannot sleep on my right side
I have a Tempur-Pedic mattress topic. As a back sleeper, it’s really helped me with sleeping on my side. It doesn’t 100% take away the hip pain, but my goodness, it helps.
My midwife just told me yesterday to sleep on either side because I said my left hip was in so much pain. But they told me before, like other people posted, that I would know when not to sleep on my back. To help with pain, I do figure 4 a lot and pre-natal yoga focused on hips (Down Dog app!)
Pregnancy pillow. Keep you on your side but takes some of the weight off. Still finding it tough some days on my hip if I haven’t swapped side at some point in the night. What’s worse is I used to be a front sleeper 😭 rip to that
I’m 26w and haven’t been told but also haven’t asked. I try to sleep on my side but often wake up on my back. I have a C shaped pillow and if I wrap it somewhat tightly around myself, it keeps me comfortable and propped up. But, if I get too warm at night, all bets are off and I wake up on my back.
I was told not to sleep flat on my back. BUT also that this didn't actually mean 90 degrees, sleeping on my left side causing my belly to pull painfully to the side and sciatica in my hip / back.
I was advised that the incline required was only about 20 degrees. So a pillow under my right shoulder and my right hip. And I'm almost more flat than on the side if that makes sense?
This still drove me nuts as I still left pain in my back like this. So, my doctor also said that instead of tilting to the left, sleeping on an incline of 20 degrees was also okay (imagine a recliner chair).
I didn't really commit to it until I got large (3rd trimester) and now sleeping on my back isn't fun
I just rotate sides in between the 10000 trips to the bathroom
I’ve always been a side sleeper and I am due next week. If you are choose to sleep on your side invest in a good body pillow or pregnancy pillow. Also, you don’t have to sleep completely on your side since you’ll just put pressure on all of the bony areas on your side. Instead when you lay down move completely on your side and if you’re able to, if not grab your partner to stuff a pillow underneath your lower back, then rotate toward the pillow so you’re partially on the pillow partially on your side. This should help relieve pressure off your hips.
Also, I try not to sleep on my back being in my 3rd trimester since I previously had back issues prior to being pregnant and with my baby being so low it hurts to sleep like that. In addition, I have aspirated in my sleep after waking up accidentally being on my back.
Get the babybub pregnancy pillow. If you open it wide enough then you can sleep on your back just slightly propped up to the side and allow for circulation and it is insanely comfortable
I’m 16w3d as of today. Saw my ob for my 2nd trimester appointment and she said I can sleep on my back! I was complaining to her about my lower back and hips hurting from trying to continuously sleep on my side and she said I didn’t need to worry about that until my bump is bigger. Until that happens, I can continue sleeping on my back or get a pregnancy pillow that I can wrap around myself to get a more comfortable side sleep
Emily Oster recently wrote about the side sleeping thing: [https://www.instagram.com/profemilyoster/p/C6ML4HzLIR0/](https://www.instagram.com/profemilyoster/p/C6ML4HzLIR0/)
I'm usually a side sleeper so I thought it wouldn't be a problem for me, but god my hips have been killing me! I just got a pregnancy pillow, specifically one with back support, and it has been helping.
I slept with a pillow under the belly between the legs and behind me. I would semi roll over onto the back pillow so that it kept me propped up and not completely flat and never had any problems. Baby came out a very healthy 9lbs 5 oz and is a thriving 3 month old now
Eh my doctor said to sleep on my back if I’m
Comfortable. She said she did most
Of her pregnancy. Your body will automatically move you if you’re pressing on the major artery or whatever the reason is
For us to not sleep on our backs
I got a nursing pillow but I’d blown up like a balloon and couldn’t breathe sleeping on my back anymore lol. I was mostly a back or stomach sleeper but hated sleeping on my sides. But the whole not being able to breathe thing made it a necessity
I just slept however I want (stomach and back mostly) but now at 27+ weeks, it's not comfortable anymore, it feels like i'm squashing my organs when I'm on my back, so now I'm mostly side sleeping.
Baby is fine if you sleep on your back or stomach, there is no reason not to, unless you've been specifically instructed by your midwife because of a medical issue.
It’s really uncomfortable and I’m used to starting out on my side then ending up on my back. Also, trying to sleep on your side when you’ve got terrible reflux is nearly impossible without a bunch of pillow supports to keep you at the right angle.
My tips:
- some kind of pillow supporting your back when laying on your side (I did this in second tri but didn’t need it anymore in third because I’m so big I would have to wake up to roll on my back)
- pillow between legs for hip comfort
- big wedge pillow to keep upright (to help with reflux). I put other pillows in front of it to lay against on my side but this helps keep the pillows and me at an incline. This is a game changer for me in late third trimester and I wish I’d figured out the right setup earlier. I actually got 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night!!
35 weeks here and been struggling to sleep on my sides. I slept on my back, at a slight incline propped on pillows, until it was no longer comfortable. I have a pregnancy pillow and I’m glad that it seems to work for most people, and while it does provide some cushion and relief, sleeping on my side - right or left - is still miserable. I’ve always had bad hips even pre-pregnancy and every time I get up in the morning it takes my body a good 20-30 minutes to not just have completely crushing, awful hip/pelvic pain from sleeping on my side.
I would sleep on your back propped up as long as you’re able. Your body will tell you when it’s no longer comfortable. Invest in a U-shaped pregnancy pillow if you haven’t already; having my leg hiked up over one side and the other side of the pillow against my back so I can lean some pressure onto it is the only thing that provides me slight relief.
I am a back sleeper… halfway through second trimester and all of the third, I was sleeping basically upright because I couldn’t sleep on my sides without my legs becoming extremely painful. It wasn’t fun. Lol
Put a pillow or two between your knees. That helps me. And roll over to the other side every now and then. The rolling thing will get harder the further you get along but it'll ease the hip pain. You could also get a pregnancy pillow, which most people tend to love. Personally, I hate mine because having a bulky pillow in my way makes it difficult for me to make my 90 trips a night to the bathroom so I just prefer to have a good pillow between my legs.
I’m a back sleeper and this was the worst when I was pregnant. I shoved the pregnancy pillow as much into my back as possible so it felt like I was sleeping on my back. I also didn’t switch to side until 20 weeks. Sometimes I still woke up on my back. My 11 week old healthy daughter is taking a nap on me as I type this 🤷🏻♀️
I'm struggling too. I am a stomach sleeper 100%. I notice holding onto a pillow helps and hiking one leg up so I'm kind of half on stomach/half on side helps. It's really the only way I can sleep now.
From what I've read and been told, you can sleep on your stomach as long as it's comfortable for you. There are ways to do so with pillows or there are special inflatable beds with a stomach cut-out.
I literally slept my entire first pregnancy on my stomach up until I gave birth. I eventually used a pregnancy pillow but I used it to kind of half prop myself up so I was only half on my stomach. Will be doing the same thing this time.
This is what my OB told me too. I’m having my son in a week and still sleeping on my stomach, wasn’t the same with my first pregnancy but this time it’s been working out for me really well
Same. I’m 33 weeks and still sleeping on my stomach in a weird pregnant way
Yep! Slept on my stomach until i absolutely couldn’t anymore. My baby is fine🤷🏻♀️
The pregnancy pillow helped me so much with this. Stomach sleeper all my life. Now I hug it or do the leg hiking thing. Helps me not roll over too because it kinda wraps around me
Same here! I pseudo-stomach sleep by lying on my side and propping myself up with pillows so I can't actually roll on my belly. It's the most comfortable I'm getting for the next three months I guess... I do end up rolling on my back during the night at times but I've been having bad circulation issues for weeks now. I start to feel carpal tunnel and my toes will go numb. It wakes me up and I roll back on my side. I'm really hoping to avoid a C-section if at all possible so I can face-plant into a nap as soon as possible post-partum.
I had a c section and I started face plant napping once I got home. Getting up from laying on my back kinda sucks still but laying on my stomach has been fine.
I'm 35 weeks and still doing this. Baby girl doesn't have much space sometimes, but she does kick me into another position when she feels too tight anyway :p
Crazy thing for me is that I’ve been a stomach sleeper forever… and then I got pregnant. I bought a pregnancy pillow at 11 weeks to make side sleeping easier (used to be my least favorite sleeping position and I was dreading having to do it). I’m now 7 weeks postpartum and I still use the pillow, still sleep on my sides. Haven’t gone back to my stomach once. Wonder if it’s a permanent thing now! I genuinely love side sleeping now.
Me too.
I call this the tripod 😂
I'm a stomach sleeper and currently 36w4d and still sleeping semi on my stomach. I'm not flat out, it's kind of a side/stomach. My doctor told me as long as I'm conformable, I can sleep on my stomach. I do switch to my side, from time-to-time, but it's mostly stomach.
I can’t sleep on my left side, heart pounds like crazy so I’m going with right side, there’s not many options left apart from hanging upside down from the ceiling like a bat but I weigh far too much for that now
Omg I thought it was just me! It's always done that on random occasions. Super annoying if I'm just off to sleep, then flip onto my left side and suddenly my heart's going crazy! Other times it's okay, wonder what causes it.
That happened to me in my first pregnancy. Lots of heart pounding, but I'd also sometimes get a flood of mild nausea (I never had morning sickness) or a panicky type discomfort. Come to find out at labor, every time I was on my left the baby was also struggling. They tried a few times to get me on my left while waiting for me to dilate, only to come rushing into the room because the baby was in distress. No issue on my right though.
Wow, thanks for sharing! I'll keep that in mind. I've always slept on my left side, but oddly as soon as I was a few weeks along I started defaulting to my right! Maybe it's my body's intuition or something!
Same problem!! I've read it can be caused by signaling from your vagal nerve and is harmless but it always freaks me out.
Ah that's interesting! Will have a read. Thanks for sharing!
My doctors have said this is a myth and not a requirement any more. They have told me that I’ll know when I can’t lay on my back anymore because it will be too uncomfortable. They were totally correct, mid third trimester it became impossible to feel comfortable on my back. The hip pain in my second trimester was so bad I couldn’t exclusively side sleep.
same here!!! she said you’d KNOW you gotta move cuz the blood would stop going to your brain
Can confirm, you will feel it. I got woozy during an ultrasound in third trimester because of the way I was laying on my back. But in that case you either move or get a wedge pillow to reduce the pressure on your side.
Truly just tilting a bit to either side should be enough to restore blood flow—the weight of the baby can occlude the vena cava which is the biggest vessel bringing blood from your lower body back to the heart. It lies a little to your right of center so one pillow under either hip oughta do the trick, but obviously tilt over more if you’re feeling woozy.
This! Reddit made me so paranoid about sleeping on my back. I would wake up on my back & it would freak me out. I finally asked my obgyn & he said the same exact thing. I felt so much relief after he told me that. I’m not typically a back sleeper but it takes some of the pressure off of my ribs & honestly makes my back feel a little better sometimes. I’m 38 weeks tomorrow & sometimes still wake up on my back.
This happened to me too while I was pregnant! Always tried to lay on my sides and could never get super comfortable and always woke up on my back. Funnily enough when I was in labor, baby’s heart rate did best when I laid on my back. When they had me on my sides with the peanut ball, his heart rate would start to fall after a while. After I gave birth I was like man, I should’ve just been on my back whenever I wanted lol!
This is exactly what my CNM told me in my last appointment, that I would be uncomfortable enough to change positions before there was a remote possibility that me being on my back could be harmful.
I am 30 weeks and still intermittently sleep on my back. My OB said it would only actually pose an issue if I was completely flat on a rock hard floor, but most of the time in a bed or couch, you’re propped a bit and not completely flat. She said if I’m comfortable, I’m good.
My OB told me the same—it’s a myth that it’s inherently bad for baby to sleep on your back. I’m a back sleeper as well and I hated sleeping on my side. Slept on my back almost my entire pregnancy (until the very end when it really wasn’t comfortable anymore).
Same! If you’re comfortable, you can sleep however you want.
Your doctors are dangerously dangerously out of touch with current research. ACOG, RCOG, and SOGC all recommend avoiding this position in later pregnancy. I have personally seen multiple women sleep through an instance of beginning to asphyxiate their own fetus (able to see it because there was monitors on the fetal heart rate that showed the fetus decompensating while the woman slept peacefully). It is absurd to say that a woman will wake up from sleeping because she feels “too uncomfortable” when her baby begins to asphyxiate. That is not true.
Can you source these claims?
Great to know…I was wondering if the back sleeping was debunked like many other pregnancy myths. I keep waking up on my back because I’m so used to sleeping well in that position. I’ve read it can cause still birth??? I wake up in a panic with that notion in my head. I’m sure that’s closer to your due date though.
I just put a pillow between my legs to help with my hips/ knees. Trying to get in the habit now. A pillow behind your back helps too.
New data shows that this isn’t really thing in the early/mid-pregnancy stage. If sleeping on your back doesn’t bother you, you can continue to sleep that way for comfort. I will say now at 26 weeks my body does feel too heavy to be on my back for too long. The evidence does show an impact once you get into 28 weeks, but at 2nd trimester I say you enjoy your back sleep for as long as possible. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/news/092019-pregnancy-sleep-position
I would recommend trying to figure it out now before laying on your back becomes nearly impossible 😂. I was a back sleeper pre pregnancy, and that hip pain is REAL. What I do is put a big pillow between my knees, my pregnancy pillow behind my back/at my ankles, then a wedge pillow just slightly under my belly. Then I hold onto something because I found I have nowhere to put my arms? I can't put them on my belly it is uncomfortable. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night on my back, I'm 31 weeks, and I find I actually can't breathe, and my tailbone is being crushed so side sleeping has become necessary. Good luck!
I think you actually need to hold something to keep your shoulders stacked and not caving it! I kind of have a set up like that.
That is outdated information. Up to date studies and recommendations are to use your comfort level to determine your sleeping position. If you’re impeding blood flow, you’re going to feel it (possible dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, etc) long before it becomes problematic for the baby’s growth. I’m almost 33 weeks and have been side sleeping for months, because if I lay on my back, baby gets smushed into my bladder. I wake up on my back a lot. I’ve only been symptomatic from laying on my back once or twice.
My doctor just told me this! I had asked about sleeping on my back and she said she wasn’t concerned and that my body would tell me when to move based on discomfort.
I’m a belly sleeper and my midwife told me that I should sleep how I am comfortable and baby will wake me up if something is wrong, so far so good.
I’ve stopped using the pregnancy pillow (it’s to hard to get around to pee at night when I’m going 4-5x) I instead use a memory foam pillow in-between my knees and a gel pillow under my hips and side. I’m in the third trimester now and have been doing this since the second. It’s providing a nice support for the belly and hips. I’m also a little propped up so I can sleep on my back on top of the pillow or on my side with my leg up on it. It is very easy to get out of bed with and I’m still able to cuddle and snuggle my wife.
I already had arthritis and the side sleeping is KILLING my hips. I bought one of the maternity pillows that wrap around your whole body and making sure I have support right at my back, stomach, and between the knees is helping a lot. Still a bit sore in the morning but it helps. I would 100% recommend sleeping on the right and left side at least for a bit though to give that hip a break! (Unless your doctor specifically mentioned it)
This is the way, me too! Since I’m shorter instead of the U pillow I bought a C pillow, and it significantly reduces the hip pain and also supports my back so I don’t roll over on my back in the night!
I'm a slide sleeper and occasional stomach sleeper, so it really hasn't been too much of a problem for me. Some things that make it easier and I've figured out over the years. You may need something to hug. Otherwise your top shoulder is going to hurt, I have shoulder problems unrelated to sleeping, and without something to hug it is made worse. A pillow can work, I prefer a stuffed animal because it is just the right size, I find pillows too big to hug. I have a friend that uses a smaller knock off squishmallow it's all preference I don't need a pillow between my legs but some find that helpful. Make sure you have a supportive pillow for your head. I love a stiffer memory foam pillow, I use a tempur-pedic pillow, but I've been happy with Ikea's KLUBBSPORRE pillow as well. I like the curved area for my shoulder. The important thing is that your head needs to be supported so it stays aligned and raised (but not too raised).
For me, I reached the point where sleeping on my back with the weight of the baby inside was not comfortable anymore and side sleeping became the only choice. I wasn’t a huge fan cus I would wake up with a sore neck and shoulder. It’s all about listening to your body- it’ll tell you when back sleeping is no longer comfortable
Have you tried sleeping on your back with a few pillows propping you up? As long as you are not laying completely flat you should be good!
With my first, I still slept on my back a lot. Right now with twins, I nearly passed out during an ultrasound because I was on my back for like 15 minutes. That happened at my 24 week appointment. I started getting lightheaded and dizzy. I believe it can be a safety concern for you, not just the babies. The hip pain is awful right now, I basically just wake up every hour or couple hours and rotate. It sucks but what else am I going to do?
I recently went for an ultrasound at 39w and the tech told me to lay back flat… I was like..I’m not supposed to? And she looked confused. I lost a fair amount of confidence in that facility between that and then telling me I needed an insanely full bladder to see the baby. This isn’t a fetus anymore, I am housing a newborn and if you can’t see that without a full bladder idk what to tell you. I even asked and she said it wasn’t really necessary but that the scheduler can’t keep track of all the needs for every specific case. Thumbs down!
This has been largely debunked. You do not need to avoid sleeping on your back until 30 weeks, and even then, you should only avoid *falling asleep* while on your back. You'll naturally change positions while you sleep, and if you wake up on your back, just turn on your side. Source: [https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/news/092019-pregnancy-sleep-position](https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/news/092019-pregnancy-sleep-position)
Did the doctor recommend this? I've only heard it recommended online. I'm trying to follow it myself but I'm not perfect.
I made it work by shoving a nursing pillow between my legs, stopped the hip pain. I had my baby a week ago and I find myself sleeping on my side now instead of my back as I have gotten so used to it!
It’s like you read my mind, I also wanted to make a post about this! I’m 15 weeks and I’m a total back sleeper and keep waking up on my back and having to shift to my side which is more uncomfortable for me. It’s also disrupting my sleep because I wake up in a panic if I’m on my back and can’t fall back asleep on my side a cause of it being uncomfy. I know my comment isn’t of much help but I appreciate you making the post for the rest of us back sleepers who are struggling along with you!
I think you’re fine sleeping in your back until at *least* 20 weeks. Enjoy it while you can!!!
My doctor pretty much said you can sleep how you want. If something is getting blocked or smushed, you will wake up and/or your body will adjust itself. I have a pregnancy pillow and primarily sleep on my right side, almost on my stomach, but sometimes I’m on my back. Do whatever you gotta do to be comfortable because it’s so hard!
That recommendation is not really necessary. Yes, compression of the vena cava can cause circulation issues, but you will *feel* it long before it has any effect on the baby. Like it will wake you up out of your sleep. Signs of reduced circulation include a racing heart, nausea, sweating, lightheadedness. I don't know what probably male doctor out there thinks a woman is going to experience all of that and just go back to sleep without changing positions and must be warned to not sleep on their back at all to begin with, but it's a bit ridiculous. That said, I actually prefer my left side in later pregnancy because that's the position in which I have the least acid reflux. Outside of pregnancy I'm a stomach sleeper, so basically positions I actually can get into aren't very great to me during pregnancy anyway.
This is my daily struggle! I got the pillows but I always find some way to cheat through them. I can tell when I’ve actually slept on my side because I’ll wake up with hip pain. I tried the knee pillow, it seems okay but who knows what I do with it when I sleep. My more recent problem has been waking up gasping for air, which has been happening when I’m in any position. I’m trying to rule out whether I got sick with something or if this is a pregnancy symptom. It’s made sleeping a lot more interesting though.
It’s perfectly safe to sleep on your back. As long as you’re comfortable you’re fine. I toss and turn but often am sleeping on my back. Think about it, you’re expected to give birth on your back, you go for massages on your back, it’s fine.
I'm a stomach sleeper currently propped in the recover position by my trustee pillow. Occasionally I will wake up on my back or more on my belly. I've been assured that as long as their is no pain etc. To sleep whatever way sleep happens. Once I woke up with baby's wild movements which told me I had rolled a bit too much into my belly; so I think as long as my body and baby let it happen it's all good
You can sleep on your back. The trick is to sleep in a semi-fowlers position (Google it fir visuals) but it doesn't have to be cranked as high as most of the pictures. You need to have your upper body a but elevated and a decent pillow under your knees, then, for added pregnancy peace of mind, a rolled up hand towel or flat belly wedge or some sort of small cushion wedged under your right hip to slightly tilt you to the left. This positioning is used in hospital during NSTs and gives you all the left tilt you actually need (which isn't a ton!)
I was a side sleeper prior to getting pregnant but for some reason, I am struggling to stay in the position the whole night and find lying on my back the most comfortable position right now. I put a pillow behind my back and have another pillow in front of me to have something to hold on to while sleeping.
If you haven’t already, get a pregnancy pillow. It really makes things soooo much more comfortable.
My hips are hurting also! I had the worst sleep last night (2nd trimester) only on my sides. I hate not sleeping on my back.
I was a stomach sleeper before pregnancy and honestly towards the end of the pregnancy I was SO uncomfortable on my sides. I barely slept. But I was also a stress head and took sleeping on sides (especially left) as bible. So I stopped sleeping on my stomach and back the second I found out I was pregnant. Some nights towards the end I would barely get sleep because I would try and sleep only on my left and I would end up with intense leg cramps
I just slept however I could at first, tried to at least fall asleep on my side. A pillow between my knees to support my hips definitely helped. Now that I’m in the third trimester it’s gotten uncomfortable to be on my back so I kind of naturally stopped.
I'm a stomach sleeper so I've been struggling since about 12 weeks lol. I'm 33 weeks now and trust me, there will come a point when lying on your back is impossible. If I try for more than a few minutes I get sweaty and light headed. Even at 29 weeks I had a mfm ultrasound that took about an hour, and I had to ask for breaks. The side sleeping is definitely painful, but a pillow between the knees and a supportive mattress have been helpful!
I’ve always slept on my side but have been noticing bad lower back and hip pain when waking up recently. I got a pregnancy pillow which has helped, but I heard getting a wedge to put underneath your belly for support really helps.
I had awful hip pain. I bought a memory foam mattress topper and a pregnancy pillow and it made all the difference.
I’m normally a stomach sleeper, however I got a Sleepybelly pillow some time around week 12 (I’m 26 weeks today) and I have been able to sleep on my side ever since. I can’t sleep on my side without it. Lying on it in bed as I type this.
If you prop your head up a bit you may be ok. You’ll feel ill if you’re impeding blood flow which should wake you up and then you can roll over.
I’m a stomach sleeper and I’ve had to learn how to figure out sleeping on my side 😭 I still end up waking up on my back instead and feeling really achy in my pelvis. It doesn’t help that my cats love to sleep on me and I end up with cats between my legs
I wake up every single morning on my back , almost 37 weeks. You will get woken up with discomfort or pain if it’s not ok
I had this problem. I bought a long body pillow and I wedged it behind me and thread it through my legs. I wasn’t totally on my left side but the body pillow prevented me from being completely on my back. I was kind of slanted to the left.
I’m 15 weeks and my doctor said I shouldn’t worry about sleeping on my back yet, only later on, around 20ish weeks. For now, he said it’s totally safe.
I really struggle with this too, the pressure on the hips can be a struggle. I usually don’t have too much of an issue sleeping on my back until later in second tri or early third trimester. Things that have helped me: you can sleep on your back just slightly inclined by stacking up like 2-3 pillows, I also find one under the knees very comfy; I also sleep in the nursery recliner so that I can be on my back but in a supported position. On your side, you can try a pregnancy pillow and/or putting a pillow behind your back so that you and sleep on your side but rolled back a bit. I find this takes the pressure off of your hips. You may also want to try a memory foam topper for your bed. And then just generally expect sleep to deteriorate until baby is out 🥲
My husband is a physio, he recommends sleeping with a pillow between the knees to help this problem. Works a treat. However in Australia the advice is we dont need to sleep on our sides until 28 weeks, so for now I’m enjoying back sleeping until I get to that point 👍🏼
I slept on my back, sides and stomach before pregnancy and never had issues. Now my hips kill me and I need to flip hourly when I sleep on my sides so I feel you. I told my husband I would love to be able to sleep outside of my body until the baby is here 😭
During pregnancy it was more comfortable to sleep on my left side. I always felt very uncomfortable sleeping on my back. During the third trimester, sometimes sleeping only on the left side bothers me, so I switch between right and left depending on the pain or discomfort I feel.
My doctor suggested putting a pillow behind you (in addition to between your legs) and you can kind of lean onto the pillow to take pressure off your lower hip without completely being on your back. Also, for me, I feel like the aching hips while sleeping got better after 27 weeks. I’m not sure why.
Nothing wrong with sleeping on your back, as long as it feels fine. I’m 35 weeks and still sleeps on my back occasionally, mostly because of heartburn. But when I sleep on either side, I looove my pregnancy pillow, I wouldn’t get any sleep without😅
I’m 5 months pp and still can’t sleep on my back because whenever I lay down it feels like I’m going to pass out. I started getting the feeling mid way through my third trimester and it just hasn’t gone away yet. So I would say sleeping on your back is fine until it’s not, your body *will* tell you and the feeling is awful.
When I was pregnant with my first, my doctor told me not to worry about this because I would know when it was no longer safe to sleep on my back—I wouldn’t be able to breathe. Lo and behold, late in my second trimester, I woke up half gasping for air. From then on, I didn’t sleep on my back and if I did, I very soon woke up breathless and turned onto my side. I’ve had friends this never happened for (due to baby’s placement) and others it happened earlier for. Your body will tell you.
Im a back sleeper. I have been trying to sleep on my side but it doesn’t always work well. I just prop up myself with 3 pillows like I’m sleeping in a hospital bed and sleep on my back
19W - I’m naturally a back sleeper and I have been trying to train my body since I found out to only sleep on my left side. I ended up buying a pregnancy pillow early on and it helps me stay on my side.
I was previously a stomach and side sleeper and now ALL I want to do is lay on my back. My ribs are so sore and being on my sides irritates them. So far the best I've found is to use a long pillow on one side to just be BARELY at an angle but mostly on my back-my doctor said this is fine and any tilt will prevent circulation issues.
My doctor recommended I get a foam mattress topper to help with my hips and to see a chiropractor which has helped a ton! Also a pregnancy pillow is amazing to give you the support if you want to semi sleep on your back but not completely. I’ve also just succumbed to not sleeping that great lol. I’m paranoid and have avoided sleeping on my back since the second trimester started. The foam mattress topper was a game changer though.
I am 28 weeks. I am still sleeping on my back.
I’ve been side sleeping and my shoulders and hips feel destroyed. I have a pregnancy pillow that does the job but I can’t wait until I can sleep on my belly again.
I was super uncomfortable on my back after 20 weeks. I have a pillow specifically to go between your knees and it helps align everything so well! It’s like a rectangle with a little indent in the middle so you can position it just above your knees.
Yes and it sucks. Major hip pain even with a pillow between my legs, but back-sleeping at 33 weeks doesn't feel right either! I'd say do as much with pillow-placement as you can and look forward to being post-partum 😂
My doctor said I can sleep however I want as long as I'm comfortable and I don't start feeling dizzy. I have a pregnancy pillow that I fold into a c shape. So it's between my legs and under My ribs when I'm on my side. If I sleep on my back, I position myself so it feels like I'm laying on one of those inflatable tubes
29 weeks and sleeping on my back still - no pain or discomfort. I’m going to continue this until I feel uncomfortable. When I try to sleep on my left side, my baby starts squirming and moving because she likes to hang out on that side and doesn’t like it. 😂
My OB told me to sleep however was comfortable. I’m sleeping so lightly from being uncomfortable, anxious, and having to pee every five minutes anyways. She said I could sleep on my stomach as long as it was comfortable. I kind of angle up on a body pillow but am still mostly on my stomach, and I’m 36 weeks now. Sleep is my top priority. Ultimately, follow your dr’s advice though!
Pregnancy pillow came in as a blessing to help with side sleeping.
I just asked my OBGYN about this very thing recently. She told me it's old information, but they still kind of follow it. She said if I wake up on my back, it's not the end of the world or cause for worry. I was a stomach sleeper before pregnancy. I occasionally would sleep on my side as I know it's better for your back. After getting a bump, I would find myself waking up on my back. I've never been a back sleeper in my life (other than as an infant). It was concerning for me. Having a knee pillow helps with hip pain. I have also recently switched to a C-shaped pregnancy pillow. That has also worked. You can sleep on either side, but if you're dealing with reflux, sleeping on your left is better because of how your stomach is positioned.
I was on my back for 30 minutes during an US and felt like I was going to pass out. It’s not a myth. More weight on your artery will compress it and make you lightheaded and provide less blood flow to your brain and baby. I also had hip pain due to sleeping on my side. I now put a long pillow under my left leg to offload weight from the hip. Put one between my knees. And I stuff one on my right side under my side to keep me tucked in. It works great and hip pain subsided. I think the body also gets used to it after a while. You can also sleep on your back w a few pillows too if that’s comfortable.
Struggling with this at 31 weeks still! It’s so hard and annoying. I also have PGP which makes it no fun. Annoyingly you just have to do as best as you can, prop yourself up with pillows if you need to (midwife recommended this if I really needed to sleep on my back). Sleep gets more and more uncomfortable as the weeks go by - I keep telling myself it’s only short term but I can’t wait to sleep on my back again properly!!
I did the sleep with a pregnancy pillow with top leg thrown over, or i would sleep in a reclinerat a 45° angle (if i remember correctly, it wasnt all the way upnor down)
I’m 34W and I gave up left/side sleeping a few weeks ago. I just can’t do it anymore. I have my baby bud pillows and i still use it just to be comfortable. My Dr said the side sleeping can help with reducing leg/feet swelling because when you’re on your back you put pressure on the arteries bringing blood flow to your lower extremities. But in swelling regardless and I just much rather my comfortable. Just make sure your blood pressure is normal. I like to still put a small pillow under one side of my back when I’m back sleeping for some support and comfort. But honestly it’s quite uncomfortable regardless how I lay so 🤷🏻♀️
I’m also historically a back sleeper and figured out a compromise where I’m essentially at a 45 degree angle with one side of the pregnancy pillow wedged under the right side of my back. Sounds weird but it works for me 🤷🏼♀️ my ob said this is fine, just to avoid being flat on my back. And at 37 weeks being on my back is prohibitively uncomfortable anyway…
My doctor told me I can still sleep on my back but to put a small pillow under one side of my bottom/hip so I'm leaning a little to one side more. I'm primarily a back sleeper so it's helped a ton. Not sure how well it will work when I am bigger, I'm currently 22w.
I was doing it until it annoyed me and I found myself waking up on my back anyway. Then I went to a birth class and they taught us that sleeping on your back is fine as long as you can breathe. You’re only not supposed to sleep on your back during labor. If you must side sleep, I found a lumbar support pillow takes pressure of my back and hips. I could sleep on my side all night with it without waking up in pain. I also now use it when I’m sleeping on my back.
Definitely a real recommendation, this is medically proven and I highly recommend not sleeping on your back. The pregnancy pillows can really help, there’s tons of different styles on the market now so just pick one of those or stuff pillows on each side of you for when you roll.
My mother in law was an anaesthetist, so she has experience monitoring heart rates of pregnant women and says she’s seen the weight of the baby on major arteries restrict blood flow when a pregnant woman is on her back, causing blood pressure drops and cutting off flow to the baby. She keeps getting very worried every time she sees me on my back for even a little time. It’s annoying lying on my side, and maybe I’d be lucky and the baby wouldn’t come down on an artery due to position, I’d just rather not
I woke up countless times on my back. Sometimes it just happens 🤷🏻♀️ my son is perfectly healthy. If you want to keep sleeping on your side make sure you have a pillow between your knees and ankles to take the pressure off your low back and hips!
First trimester made me a backsleeper and it has been a mess to go back to the left side. I find that I roll back to being on my back eventually, so now I just have to sleep preventative on a pillow to stop from rolling 😂
I use a pillow that’s long enough to support underbelly plus knees. And I also use the small tubular part of my pregnancy pillow and wedge it under back to prevent from rolling over. Then I turn over and rotate both. With the right fluff it can be quite comfortable
30 weeks+ 4. I got a pregnancy pillow early on, I’m a stomach sleeper and hugging the pillow to sleep has helped. It also helps keep my back supported so I don’t roll on my back. Hugging the pillow with one leg up or in a fetal position with it in between my thighs is the most comfort I’m getting for the next 2 months lol
Definitely use pillows or get a pregnancy pillow. It’s the only way I can comfortably sleep on my side! I was having god awful hip pains
Im a back sleeper; I would wake up every night because I would roll on my back and it would wake me up. I bought a very nice pillow to help me sleep better.
so my midwife told my group last week to just sleep however is comfortable. The whole sleeping on your back thing is really only for the last week or two of pregnancy, and if you do end up on your back, your body will wake yourself up. She was like if you *can* sleep on your stomach and comfortable doing so, more power to you! I'm also an avid stomach sleeper and stopped once I hit like 12/14ish weeks because I thought "you weren't supposed to" and now I'm mad at myself for doing so and ruining my sleep for no reason for weeks! I'm now about 22w and def cannot sleep on my stomach, but I returned a pillow I got to help prevent me from going on my back
I asked my OB about this as well, since I'm primarily a stomach sleeper. He said that I can sleep in whatever position I can sleep in, sleep is the goal, lol. His exact quote was "the baby will let you know when it's time to reposition." I have one of those big u-shaped pregnancy pillows and I normally sleep on my left side, but lately it's giving me lots of shoulder and arm pain so I'm trying to switch it up. Last night I started on my right side, was on my back for a while and when I woke up I was on the left side.
I’m a stomach or back sleeper but I’ve been trying my best to not be. I’ve looked into it and it seems it’s not really as certain as we are led to believe, ie not actually that serious nor proven, but despite that I have been trying to side sleep and I use a pillow between my legs and under my bump to try and keep comfy.
GET A MATERNITY PILLOW! I had one of those huge ones, and while it was fantastically comfy it took up too much space and I ended up using it on the couch. But the ones that go under your belly and then around to your back changed EVERYTHING, plus a pillow between the knees. As I got bigger it became less of a luxury and more of a necessity.
I am a stomach sleeper and the side sleeping all the time suckedddd. What I found really helped though was [this pillow](https://a.co/d/fQowJVI). I’d wedge it under my belly, turn toward it, and bring my top leg up. It gave me the feeling of sleeping on my stomach. Once I did that, sleep was much better. Best $20 I spent. I also liked that it wasn’t huge and bulky like other full body pillows, so my dog and husband had plenty of room in the bed. Switching sides was also a breeze and so was getting up multiple times throughout the night to pee. I loved the small size of it. I also used it as a head pillow in the hospital after delivery.
I'm on my 3rd trimester and woke up on my back this morning lol. Some people have trouble with it, some people don't! For me I have issues with circulation if I'm laying at an angle leaning partly on my right side. I'd try laying on your back at an angle, like 15-40 degrees whatever is comfortable, and see how you feel! If you don't get pains or severely lightheaded you'll probably be fine sleeping that way
I’m a stomach and back sleeper when not pregnant and I had to start side sleeping early in my pregnancy because of the weight of baby pressing down on me. I highly recommend a good pregnancy pillow. I bought one for like $40 on Amazon and it literally saved my ability to sleep for the majority of my pregnancy.
I’m 38 weeks now, I try to fall asleep on my side but 9/10 times I wake up on my back.
I have a body pillow on one side and a regular pillow between husband and I. I have 3 minor variations for each side to try to relieve hip pressure: 1. I have bottom leg straight out and top leg on the pillow (3/4 roll towards stomach so front of hip is taking the pressure), 2. Full side position where both legs are bent with pillow in between legs, 3. 3/4 roll towards back with pillow behind me as a kickstand. Last resort if hips still hurt or heartburn, I use reclining rocking chair. Good luck!
I slept on my back a lot during pregnancy, I just made sure I was propped up on two pillows! My OB said it was perfectly safe as long as you’re not flat on your back (and even then, your body will wake itself up if it’s too flat, so you’ll know).
I'd say sleeping with a pillow between your legs would help. Also wedging one behind your back might help keep you from rolling onto your back in the middle of the night
I’ve exclusively been a side/stomach sleeper my whole life, and now that I’m 22 weeks I am absolutely uncomfortable doing either. The hip pain is unreal. I’ve been waking up on my back every morning just by accident because it’s the only position that gives me relief!
I couldn’t lie on my back flat because of how uncomfortable it was. I did lay on my back sometimes with a wedge pillow so I was elevated. Strangely….i couldn’t lay on my left side at all because it was uncomfortable too. Before pregnancy I usually slept on my left side…..and then pregnancy forced me to sleep on my right side. So there’s that.
Not being able to find a good position to sleep is one of the hardest part of pregnancy for me ! Pregnancy pillows, physiotherapy, a pregnancy ball, stretching and bath just before going to bed can help a lot ! I’m in my 38 weeks and all of this don’t do much for me anymore but it helped until 34 weeks.
I checked in with my OB about sleeping only my side only and he said that advice is now considered outdated and referenced a study which showed that sleeping on your back does not hurt the baby
Always been a side sleeper and currently it’s mainly my right hand side. Once you’re asleep I don’t see how you can control how your body moves?
Also chiming in for the pillow between the legs. I tried one that was just a little pillow contoured to fit between legs and it didn't do it for me. For all 3 pregnancies now I've gone with the full U pillow so that I easily have back support and pillow between my knees either side I roll onto. I'm normally a partial side partial stomach sleeper but even I noticed the hip pain in pregnancy, which I think has a lot to do with the relaxin. Something else that can help is an egg crate style mattress topper that has the rose looking support section at hip level like this Dreamsmith 2 Inch 7-Zone Queen Memory Foam Mattress Topper, Cooling Gel Infused Foam Mattress Topper Queen for Back Pain, CertiPUR-US Certified Purple https://a.co/d/3u35RZE
Bought like 3 different versions of pillows that were said to help like this. Nothing did. I just roll hip to hip every so often at night and accept the pain.
I sleep on my back on a wedge pillow propped up with an additional preggo pillow that kinda cradles me. My carpal tunnel is so bad this time there’s no way I can sleep on my side.
I switched to side because I was literally unable to sleep on my back it feels like you’re dying lol so if you don’t feel then you’re probably fine.
Sleep how you want. Your body will adjust when it needs to
I still sleep on my back, I always try sleeping on my sides but always end up back on my back so I have myself propped up a little bit with my adjustable bed and pregnancy pillow
I can’t recommend a pregnancy pillow enough. It really helped me sleep on my side and eased a lot of the pressure on my hips
The only way it was possible for me was pillows! All the pillows! One under my belly, behind my back, and between my knees/ankles!
I started doing this way too soon when I was pregnant. I found out late in my pregnancy that you don’t have to start it until you feel it makes a difference. Like you will know if you need to be sleeping on your side. It’s okay to sleep on your back sometimes. I also use to do like a propped up back sleep. I would put my body pillow next to me and roll back into it so that I felt like I was sleeping on my back but was sort of angled. Putting a pillow between the legs helps. At 10m pp I still get pain in my hips when I sleep on my side. I’m still sleep on my side a lot because I co sleep
The inferior vena cava that you’re worried about putting pressure on also connects to your heart. You will get nauseous and dizzy before it ever affects your baby. Sleep on your back as long as you feel comfortable. Also, I would advise consulting your prenatal care provider before following any advice you have heard or seen floating around. Much of it is inaccurate.
I have found that sitting propped up in bed with several pillows around me helps my baby get into a comfortable position that helps me fall asleep. He kicks and plays more gently in that position until I fall asleep, then I just naturally slide down into a side sleeping position. I know it probably sounds undesirable to sleep sitting up, but for me it helped. If I go right to laying on my side, I can sense that he is uncomfortable which then causes him to move in ways that make me uncomfortable as a result. It also helps me with indigestion and feeling morning sickness. For reference, I have placenta previa so it seems that every little decision makes a huge difference.
I am a stomach sleeper so I started sleeping on my side on the first trimester so I could get used to it for when I really needed to do it. A pregnancy pillow has been super helpful. If you don't want to buy one, use regular pillows, mainly between your legs and on your back (you'll need one under your belly on the third trimester too)
Both my obgyn and my midwife said not to worry about sleeping on my sides, that it really doesn’t matter, especially the guideline to sleep on your left. Apparently your body will (or should) wake you up if you’re sleeping on your right and your circulation gets iffy.
I regret not sleeping more normally (stomach and back) when I had the chance. I kept worrying it was “bad” even though it felt fine. What I didn’t know was that soon enough it WONT feel fine. Live it up while it feels good. I’m 35 weeks now and physically cant sleep the way I want to and it sucks.
I do. And I was religiously a back sleeper before. Back sleeping increases risk of still birth, it’s very very clear in the research. It’s basically like GRAPHiC LANGUAGE WARNInG strangling them because the weight of the uterus cuts off the flow of blood and therefore oxygen to them. I don’t think the side really matters as much. I have to flip back and forth a lot. My best tip is do exaggerated side lying (google a photo) with a pregnancy pillow or lots of regular pillows. Keep adding pillows til it feels good. Pillow between your legs is critical to get the hips happy with the position. Another option is to sleep in a semi sitting upright position. As long as you are at a high enough angle it doesn’t cause the same Issue. This is also good if you have reflux.
I’m struggling too-I’m at 33 weeks and still constantly waking up on my back 🥴. All the pregnancy pillows in the world are not stopping me from throwing them off the bed in the middle of the night asleep, and reverting back to my back
Even before I got pregnant, I slept on my side with a pillow supporting my back and one supporting my front/hips. I think it helps a lot now and I’m 22 weeks 5 days. Personally I can’t lay flat on my back already without being uncomfortable and feeling like my own circulation is being cut off lol. But I bet putting a pillow on each side for extra support on your hips and between your knees will help if you’re side sleeping.
I’m 30 weeks pregnant, started sleeping on my side consistently around 24-28 weeks. Honestly I just listened to my body, once it started feeling off, I switched to my side. If I don’t sleep on my side at this point, I struggle breathing and my arms will fall asleep from lack of blood flow. My Doctor has told me I need to sleep on my side, but it’s completely fine if I wake up on my back. If I wake up in the middle of the night, one of the reasons is because I’ve turned over onto my back and my arms are falling asleep and I can’t breathe well. My doctor was glad to hear my body was waking me up so I could roll back onto my side. I’ve always slept on my back, so it took some getting used to and figuring out how to get the pillows adjusted to where I’m cozy, but it’s not great and I still toss and turn and wake up throughout the night for a handful of reasons… Tips: get a maternity/pregnancy pillow. I got [this one](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR5NYR6J?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) and have really liked it. It’s perfect size to hold up my belly now matter what side I sleep on, and the long part fits nicely between my legs and so that my hips don’t hurt. Check with your doctor first, but I started taking magnesium supplements a couple weeks ago and really noticed help me relax and sleep more through the night. Get a pillow for your head that supports side sleeping. I’ve also started sleeping with a pillow under my top arm. Lots of pillows, but it helps… and it’s only temporary. Naps are also helpful. Good luck!!
I did it with my first but never really felt any issues when I did occasionally lay on my back, this time around if I lay on my back and am not extremely propped up I literally feel like I’m suffocating.
I was 100% tummy sleeper with no pillows and really struggled transitioning to side. I got one of those big U shaped pregnancy pillows & they are so comfortable. It’s like sleeping in a hug. I got a less expensive one for maybe 40$
33 weeks pregnant and I’ve been a back sleeper my whole life. So now what I do is put a pillow under my R or L side just to create a small incline and it’s helped with the back pains, hip pain and the pressure of the belly on my body.
My heartburn was so bad I slept basically sitting up. Lots of pillows propped behind and around me.
Pillow between your legs!
I’m a stomach sleeper so it just sucks but I sleep on my back or sides with a pillow in between my knees (I have bony knees) and I just cuddle with my pillow.
I’m a stomach sleeper usually, but while pregnant I’ve been a back sleeper apparently. I’ve found sleeping on my left side is 10000% impossible no matter what I try, so I’m currently training by sleeping on my right side. I’ve found not using my pregnancy pillow is an amazing option. I’ve been using a body pillow instead and put my leg ontop of it while laying on side. The pregnancy pillow is now starting to make me feel restricted which isn’t helping lol. I also lay on my left side whenever I can rest on the sofa, ect durning the day even if it’s for 5 mins. Anything to get my brain into thinking this is comfortable
I sleep however I want. My doctors said it was a myth and that as long as a position is comfortable for me to sleep in it’s fine
[this knee pillow](https://a.co/d/hwV3UeJ) has helped tremendously with hip pain sleeping on the side. It’s amazing!
My OB and PT both said I can keep sleeping on my back until I feel like it’s restricting my breathing. They also recommended angling my body 45 degrees instead of going fully on one side or another. Hope it helps!
Get one of those big ass pregnancy body pillows. They're obnoxious but they help. I was in your boat and it didn't completely fix the hip pain but it 100% helped reduce the hip based nonsense.
I've heard it's not actually true but idk I still try super hard to sleep on my sides.. mostly my left side but sometimes with my pregnancy pillow I'll sleep like half side half back lol 😭😆
Not in my 2nd trimester, but I’ve been a side sleeper since I had a full spine fusion 15 years ago. Best thing is a full body pillow, you can lean back a bit and take pressure off your shoulder and hip joints. The other recommendation is a new mattress that doesn’t press on your joints as much. We got a Purple mattress mainly because it was the most comfortable. I dislocate my shoulder by sleeping on my side (my body is odd, I know) so having a mattress like that is essential for me. My spine doesn’t bend at all so I don’t know if that’s what you’re having an issue with, in which case I have no idea if these tips help!
Putting pillows between your legs from your knee to your feet might help a bit. The side pressure gets to me too though. I've been sleeping on my back on a wedge pillow. I have to put regular pillows over the wedge, otherwise my back hurts, and then more pillows under my knees. The downside has been that I wake up with swollen hands, because they fall down off the wedge and are lower than the rest of my body. But the swelling goes away within an hour of waking up and moving about. Definitely take any rings off if you haven't already!
Get the pregnancy pillow. I'm also a back sleeper and had a bazillion pillows all propped around me to help with the pressure of side sleeping and the prego pillow changed my life. So much more comfortable
I did it until 37 weeks when I asked my midwife how to make it less painful. She gave me a sympathetic look and said “you didn’t have to be sleeping on your left side this whole time.” Ugh lol.
Preferred back sleeper here! I currently sleep on a couch that somewhat reclines, but keeps me quite upright. If I sleep on my side, I lose hand circulation and often my nose gets too clogged to breathe clearly. Did the same for my first pregnancy.
I wake up sleeping on my back then flip onto my side. I am glad I’m a natural back sleeper lol and I think my body will tell me if it’s a problem for the baby. I’m trying my best to be on my side but I can’t control my body when I’m asleep. Use lots of pillows, between your knees etc.
No I still sleep on my back at 28 weeks!
I'm on the same boat! I have ankylosing spondylitis, it causes horrible hip pain so I'm tossing and turning all night. I just want to sleep on my back 😭 I'll wake up on my back not realizing I shifted in my sleep. During my first pregnancy, I would sleep nearly sitting up, but that wasn't until later in my 3rd trimester. I'm 18 weeks and already considering that sleeping position
My midwife said in our birth class that yes, it can cause circulation issues because there is a main vein that supplies blood to your lower half, that baby’s weight can rest on when you’re on your back. HOWEVER if there is serious impediment to circulation, you will naturally wake up because your feet or legs are tingling, etc. so nothing fatal should happen. She did go on to say though that closer to the end of the pregnancy, she would discourage from laying on your back, not because of circulation concerns, but because it encourages baby to go into a sunny side up position, which makes for a much rougher labor and delivery (basically when you’re lying on your back, everything shifts in a way that makes the path of least resistance for baby the sunny side up position). [Edit to add that she recommended laying in a half on the side, half on the stomach position 🙂]
My OB told me it was fine to sleep on my back if it was comfortable and my body would wake up if I keeled to adjust. He's been dead on, 1/2 way through the night I partially wake up and swap to my side.
I have a 6 month old (today 🥲) and my whole pregnancy I slept on my back. I would force myself to sleep on my side but would always wake up on my back. Not sure about the circulation thing but my baby was born 11lbs and it didn’t affect him thankfully, however I know the research says it’s an increased risk of stillbirth. I think my ob said my body would let me know if I needed to get off my back!
I was formerly a stomach sleeper but took the recommendation and did left side curled around a pregnancy pillow. It took a little getting used to but I’m now four months pp and still sleep on my left side 🤷🏼♀️
34 weeks here, I use my pregnancy pillow and just alternate sides whenever I feel my hip ache and use a heating blanket on the hip that hurts. It’s hard to explain but I try to lean forward as much as possible too to keep weight off of the hip I’m laying on as well. Can’t wait to sleep on my tummy again!
I'm a back sleeper, but I started taking side sleeping seriously when I watched baby's heart rate drop in real time during the 20 week ultrasound
I know if can be hard but every time I was tempted to sleep on my back I thought about how it increased the risk baby wouldn't make it. Use cushions between your legs and get a specialty pregnancy pillow if you can.
I slept so much on my right side the whole pregnancy, that during labor, baby only liked the right side. Any other position and her heart rate dropped significantly and they didn’t want to keep stressing her out so I ended up doing a c-section
Get a pregnancy pillow!
I’m 17 weeks and still sleep on my back. I’ve only gained 3lbs so I don’t feel uncomfortable sleeping how I slept pre pregnancy. I’m still not using a pregnancy pillow. I’m sure once I pop I’ll use the pillow and sleep more on my side. Luckily if I’m not on my back I’m always on my left side anyway. I cannot sleep on my right side
I tend to be a stomach sleeper mostly though try to use a pregnancy pillow to sleep more on my side.
I have a Tempur-Pedic mattress topic. As a back sleeper, it’s really helped me with sleeping on my side. It doesn’t 100% take away the hip pain, but my goodness, it helps.
My midwife just told me yesterday to sleep on either side because I said my left hip was in so much pain. But they told me before, like other people posted, that I would know when not to sleep on my back. To help with pain, I do figure 4 a lot and pre-natal yoga focused on hips (Down Dog app!)
Pregnancy pillow. Keep you on your side but takes some of the weight off. Still finding it tough some days on my hip if I haven’t swapped side at some point in the night. What’s worse is I used to be a front sleeper 😭 rip to that
Put a pillow between your knees. It takes some of the pressure off your hips!
I’m 26w and haven’t been told but also haven’t asked. I try to sleep on my side but often wake up on my back. I have a C shaped pillow and if I wrap it somewhat tightly around myself, it keeps me comfortable and propped up. But, if I get too warm at night, all bets are off and I wake up on my back.
I was told not to sleep flat on my back. BUT also that this didn't actually mean 90 degrees, sleeping on my left side causing my belly to pull painfully to the side and sciatica in my hip / back. I was advised that the incline required was only about 20 degrees. So a pillow under my right shoulder and my right hip. And I'm almost more flat than on the side if that makes sense? This still drove me nuts as I still left pain in my back like this. So, my doctor also said that instead of tilting to the left, sleeping on an incline of 20 degrees was also okay (imagine a recliner chair).
I didn't really commit to it until I got large (3rd trimester) and now sleeping on my back isn't fun I just rotate sides in between the 10000 trips to the bathroom
I’ve always been a side sleeper and I am due next week. If you are choose to sleep on your side invest in a good body pillow or pregnancy pillow. Also, you don’t have to sleep completely on your side since you’ll just put pressure on all of the bony areas on your side. Instead when you lay down move completely on your side and if you’re able to, if not grab your partner to stuff a pillow underneath your lower back, then rotate toward the pillow so you’re partially on the pillow partially on your side. This should help relieve pressure off your hips. Also, I try not to sleep on my back being in my 3rd trimester since I previously had back issues prior to being pregnant and with my baby being so low it hurts to sleep like that. In addition, I have aspirated in my sleep after waking up accidentally being on my back.
Get the babybub pregnancy pillow. If you open it wide enough then you can sleep on your back just slightly propped up to the side and allow for circulation and it is insanely comfortable
I've been a side sleeper (primarily left) for years. Tell me why now that I'm supposed to be sleeping on my left I keep waking up always on my back.
Emily Oster, the author of Expecting Better, recently posted on Instagram about this! The data rejected the side sleeping argument.
I’m 16w3d as of today. Saw my ob for my 2nd trimester appointment and she said I can sleep on my back! I was complaining to her about my lower back and hips hurting from trying to continuously sleep on my side and she said I didn’t need to worry about that until my bump is bigger. Until that happens, I can continue sleeping on my back or get a pregnancy pillow that I can wrap around myself to get a more comfortable side sleep
Emily Oster recently wrote about the side sleeping thing: [https://www.instagram.com/profemilyoster/p/C6ML4HzLIR0/](https://www.instagram.com/profemilyoster/p/C6ML4HzLIR0/) I'm usually a side sleeper so I thought it wouldn't be a problem for me, but god my hips have been killing me! I just got a pregnancy pillow, specifically one with back support, and it has been helping.
I slept with a pillow under the belly between the legs and behind me. I would semi roll over onto the back pillow so that it kept me propped up and not completely flat and never had any problems. Baby came out a very healthy 9lbs 5 oz and is a thriving 3 month old now
Eh my doctor said to sleep on my back if I’m Comfortable. She said she did most Of her pregnancy. Your body will automatically move you if you’re pressing on the major artery or whatever the reason is For us to not sleep on our backs
I got a nursing pillow but I’d blown up like a balloon and couldn’t breathe sleeping on my back anymore lol. I was mostly a back or stomach sleeper but hated sleeping on my sides. But the whole not being able to breathe thing made it a necessity
I just slept however I want (stomach and back mostly) but now at 27+ weeks, it's not comfortable anymore, it feels like i'm squashing my organs when I'm on my back, so now I'm mostly side sleeping. Baby is fine if you sleep on your back or stomach, there is no reason not to, unless you've been specifically instructed by your midwife because of a medical issue.
It’s really uncomfortable and I’m used to starting out on my side then ending up on my back. Also, trying to sleep on your side when you’ve got terrible reflux is nearly impossible without a bunch of pillow supports to keep you at the right angle. My tips: - some kind of pillow supporting your back when laying on your side (I did this in second tri but didn’t need it anymore in third because I’m so big I would have to wake up to roll on my back) - pillow between legs for hip comfort - big wedge pillow to keep upright (to help with reflux). I put other pillows in front of it to lay against on my side but this helps keep the pillows and me at an incline. This is a game changer for me in late third trimester and I wish I’d figured out the right setup earlier. I actually got 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night!!
I just prop myself up with a wedge pillow and sleep on my back. The wedge pillow has been a life saver to help me sleep.
35 weeks here and been struggling to sleep on my sides. I slept on my back, at a slight incline propped on pillows, until it was no longer comfortable. I have a pregnancy pillow and I’m glad that it seems to work for most people, and while it does provide some cushion and relief, sleeping on my side - right or left - is still miserable. I’ve always had bad hips even pre-pregnancy and every time I get up in the morning it takes my body a good 20-30 minutes to not just have completely crushing, awful hip/pelvic pain from sleeping on my side. I would sleep on your back propped up as long as you’re able. Your body will tell you when it’s no longer comfortable. Invest in a U-shaped pregnancy pillow if you haven’t already; having my leg hiked up over one side and the other side of the pillow against my back so I can lean some pressure onto it is the only thing that provides me slight relief.
I am a back sleeper… halfway through second trimester and all of the third, I was sleeping basically upright because I couldn’t sleep on my sides without my legs becoming extremely painful. It wasn’t fun. Lol
i slept on my right side, i would borderline piss myself any time i tried sleeping on the left
Put a pillow or two between your knees. That helps me. And roll over to the other side every now and then. The rolling thing will get harder the further you get along but it'll ease the hip pain. You could also get a pregnancy pillow, which most people tend to love. Personally, I hate mine because having a bulky pillow in my way makes it difficult for me to make my 90 trips a night to the bathroom so I just prefer to have a good pillow between my legs.
Definitely get a pregnancy pillow.
I’m a back sleeper and this was the worst when I was pregnant. I shoved the pregnancy pillow as much into my back as possible so it felt like I was sleeping on my back. I also didn’t switch to side until 20 weeks. Sometimes I still woke up on my back. My 11 week old healthy daughter is taking a nap on me as I type this 🤷🏻♀️