With baby in the belly, women usually soon start looking for comfortable sleeping positions during pregnancy. But comfort is not the only reason to change one’s sleeping positions during pregnancy. Certain sleeping positions are also healthier and better for the unborn child than others.

You can read about the different sleeping positions during pregnancy and which ones are recommended here.

Sleeping On Your Stomach: Sleeping Position For The Beginning Of Pregnancy

Are you a stomach sleeper? Then you should use the beginning of pregnancy with baby in your belly to spend your nights in this sleeping position. Soon you will probably notice that the prone position is not one of the most comfortable sleeping positions during pregnancy.

It’s not the size of your belly that usually gets in the way of this sleeping position – it’s your breasts, which can squeeze or tighten when you’re in the prone position. While the uterus and baby in the belly are still small at the beginning of pregnancy and are simply pushed to the side when sleeping, the breasts now receive more blood flow.

As a result, they not only gradually become larger, but may also begin to ache. For these reasons, the prone position is not one of the best sleeping positions during pregnancy.

Sleeping In The Supine Position: At Some Point It Becomes Dangerous

Do you sleep and dream best on your back? Many people appreciate this sleeping position in a straight supine position because it is comfortable for them. Especially those who have a good mattress at home may like to lie on their back, especially since pregnant women thus do not put pressure on the chest and the baby in the belly.

For the latter, however, the supine position is one of the most dangerous sleeping positions during pregnancy. For the last third of pregnancy at the latest, preferably from the halfway point, doctors recommend switching from the supine position to a different sleeping position. But why is the supine position so dangerous?

Supine Position Increases Risk Of Illness

The answer is vena cava syndrome. This syndrome describes when the uterus presses on the vena cava, the inferior vena cava, in the supine position. As weight increases, so does the risk of squeezing this all-important vein.

As one of the most important vessels in our body, the vena cava transports blood from below to the heart. At the same time, it supports detoxification by the kidneys and prevents the body from storing excessive water.

If the vena cava is compressed by the weight of the uterus, blood cannot flow smoothly to the heart. As a result, the mother’s circulation may drop and, in the worst case, the baby in the abdomen may also suffer a poorer oxygen supply. This effect is also called vena cava compression syndrome.

Don’t Panic About Sleeping In The Supine Position

If you are worried that you might accidentally turn onto your back at night and endanger the baby in your belly, we can reassure you! You can use the healthier sleeping positions during pregnancy especially for falling asleep.

This is because you generally spend the most sleep time in these sleeping positions. If you turn over during the night without realizing it, the rather unhealthy supine position will not take up much sleep time.

If you wake up at night and realize that you are lying on your back instead of the recommended sleep positions during pregnancy, your body has just pulled you out of the unhealthy sleep mode.

The Best Sleeping Position For Pregnancy

As alternatives to the prone and supine positions, various side sleeping positions are ideal during pregnancy. However, only one of the side positions is recommended as safe from a medical point of view.

On The Left Side Is The Best Sleeping Position

If you can, you should prefer to sleep on your left side among the side sleeping positions during pregnancy. Studies have shown that expectant mothers who find their sleeping positions during pregnancy lie primarily on the left side have a lower risk of miscarriage after the 28th week of gestation.

Because the vena cava runs on the right side of the body, it tends to be less squeezed when sleeping on the left side. The lymphatic system also works well in this sleeping position and is better able to remove water from the tissues.

Heartburn and digestive problems may also improve because the organs are not squeezed as much as on the right side. In addition, this of the sleeping positions during pregnancy is gentler on your heart. Your baby is also better supplied with nutrients and oxygen in the sleeping position on the left side.

But: Exceptions prove the rule! If you have tried the left-sided sleeping position and simply feel uncomfortable or even dizzy, you should not keep it under any circumstances.

A short period of getting used to the sleeping positions of pregnancy is allowed, but no one should have to force themselves into one of the sleeping positions. In case of doubt, your doctor will advise you and give you tips on the best position to sleep in.

Now you know about the best sleeping positions during pregnancy, but you tend to turn into a different position at night? Various tools will help you stay in healthier sleeping positions even with baby in your belly.

Tips And Tricks For Comfortable Sleeping Positions During Pregnancy

With a growing baby bump and increasing discomfort, restful sleep will become more and more important for you. After all, even with a newborn, there is no quiet time ahead. In order to find comfortable sleeping positions during pregnancy and, above all, to stay in them, there are various aids and tricks.

1. Finding The Best Sleeping Position With A Nursing Pillow

A nursing pillow helps you to keep the left side position stable even before the birth of your child. Larger, long models that are quite firm are ideal for this. You can hug such a nursing pillow, hold on to it or rest one leg on it.

The grown belly also finds support here. A nursing pillow in the back prevents you from turning at night into one of the less recommended sleeping positions during pregnancy.

2. Replace Comforters And Pillows

You will notice many physical changes during pregnancy, including a higher body temperature and a different sense of warmth and cold. Many pregnant women now find it too warm in bed with their usual blankets and pillows, which can have a negative effect on maintaining a sleeping position.

Test out whether it makes sense to change to a lighter blanket and sleep with several small, firm pillows instead of a large, soft pillow. You can also use the latter individually to stabilize your favorite sleeping position.

3. Getting Up When You Can’t Sleep

If the baby is wriggling and kicking in your belly, you have back pain or suffer from heartburn – don’t force yourself to stay awake in bed. It doesn’t make it any easier to fall asleep, especially if you’re lying in one of the more awkward sleeping positions during pregnancy.

Getting up at night, going to the bathroom or wandering around your four walls will get your circulation going. If you get up several times from the different sleeping positions during pregnancy, you can also prevent blood from building up for a long time through the depressed vena cava.

4. Claiming The Bed For Yourself

It sounds a little mean, but during pregnancy, many women sleep better when they have the bed to themselves. They may not only need more space due to the baby in the belly. Also already mentioned aids such as breastfeeding or other additional pillows can already fill a whole bed.

For the partner or further children, who sleep perhaps within the family bed, it becomes then closely. Many mothers start sleeping in a different bed than the one they are in during pregnancy or even move their partner out of the bed.

If you feel that you are always waking each other up, you should address the current sleeping situation. Perhaps a solution can be found that will allow everyone to sleep better.

Sleepless Through The End Of Pregnancy

In the last few weeks, there is hardly any talk of comfortable sleeping positions during pregnancy. Regardless of how your bed down now – you will hardly be able to sleep through the night shortly before the birth.

This is not dangerous for your baby in the belly, but it is exhausting for you. If you can’t get a good night’s sleep even by changing sleeping positions, several short naps during the day are a good alternative to compensate for the sleep deficit.