Is sleeping on your back good or bad ???

[Wombles]

Maybe a silly question, but i have heard that laying/sleeping on your back whilst pregnant is not good for the baby ?? It can cause the umbilical cord to wrap around their neck ????

Is this true or does laying/sleeping on your back make any other difference ??? I go to sleep laying on my side, but alot of the time i will wake up laying on my back.

[FluffyLaRue]

You shouldn't lie on your back during 2nd and 3rd trimester because the weight of your uterus is too much for your inferior vena cava, which is a major blood vessel. You will slow blood flow for both yourself and baby which is why it's not such a great idea to spend a long time on your back.

[trini246]

i know i am still early in my pregnancy but i never knew that you shouldnt sleep on your back..i am alot like Wombles and i go to sleep on my side and i wake up on my back

[MantaRay]

You will slow blood flow for both yourself and baby

Actually, it's more that you MIGHT stop the blood flow, not WILL. But that is the reason. You only need to be on a slight incline to keep the pressure off your blood vessels, so I found keeping a pillow behind me worked. Then if I rolled on to my back, I wouldn't be flat on my back IYKWIM? I would be on a bit of a slant.

I had the vein block while lying on my back for a few minutes during an ob visit with one of my pgs. I suddenly felt very breathless and nauseaous, and my ob had me roll over to my side immediately. It's an awful feeling, like you are going to pass out. Having felt that I was extra careful not to sleep on my back!

[Alan]

I agree with MantaRay. It is possable to cut off the blood supply to your baby and to you by lying on your back. It will not cause the cord to wrap around bubs neck

[krysalyss]

Agree with previous posts. I had an ultrasound once and the sonographer seemed a bit naive with pregger women. He kept pushing me to stay on my back even though I was feeling awful. In the end I just rolled because I felt so awful. He didnt argue by that time as I think he was afraid I would vomit on his shoes.

[Mummatotwo!]

i didnt kn0w this!!!!
i sleep 0n my back all the time

must change n0w!

[meow]

I hated lying on my back- I could feel that it felt 'wrong' and was very uncomfortable. I remember going to a pre-natal yoga class with a dimwitted instructor who kept suggesting exercises lying on my back... I tried to explain how it wasn't good and he said rubbish about if you had more yoga practise... he so didn't get it so needless to say I didn't go back there!

[satya]

Your OB or midwife will probably tell you at your 20 week visit that it's best to sleep on your left side from then onwards. You can get some major dizzy spells as you get up if you don't. I've slept on my side from 20 weeks and haven't suffered any dizzyness at all and as you progress you'll probably find it really uncofortable to lie anyway other than on your side.

[Wombles]

Thanks for your repies

I have been trying so hard to stay sleeping on my left or right side, but i wake during the night with very painful hips lol, sometimes it's a no win situation I tell my husband to roll me over if he finds me on my back and he has been good by doing this. It's a hard habit to break when it's a position you are used to sleeping in.

I can't say i have felt dizzy or queezy by laying on my back though, but then again i am a bigger girl, so it might be a little harder for me to feel it, not sure. But it's something that has definately been bought to my attention by your replies

[{sarah}]

I found I'd end up on my back quite a lot as well & when I woke up there I'd just roll over, maybe that was why I was waking up.... After about 30 weeks when I was quite big I found I wasn't rolling onto my back so much anymore.

[SunnyRain]

Ugh I hate it, I find it so awful to sleep on my left side all night. My hips are so sore!

Anyway, why aren't you supposed to sleep on your right side? I have to sleep on my right to give my left side a break from bed sores.

I wake up on my back, but my stomach gets very tight and my baby is always down really low in my pelvis which can feel very uncomfortable when I am on my back.I haven't really put on any weight so I don't think there's much extra padding around baby.

Every night when I lie down and roll onto my left side my baby starts kicking /head butting me violently in my groin and bladder. It's awful! Does anyone else have this problem?

How can I sleep comfortably?

[MantaRay]

My ob told me there is no difference between left side and right side. I slept on both. If you like lying on your back, pop a pillow under you on one side so you are sloped a bit and are not totally flat and you will be fine. You only need a slight incline, it is only being totally flat that is a problem.

[Alan]

You can sleep on either side, just not flat on your back

[Curly]

You will find that as your pregnancy progresses that you are more uncomfortable on your back and will automatically not sleep on your back anymore. My OB always said to lie how I felt comfortable and if I felt uncomfortable to move. You move around naturally in your sleep so it's a bit impractical to expect someone to lie all night on their left side.

I am 19 weeks now (2nd pregnancy) and find that if I lie on my back I start to feel a bit sick and I'm finding that it is less common for me to wake lying on my back. If I do, I just move. I believe if I have woken up it is because I am uncomfortable so my body is telling me to move. As you get bigger you will find there is no way you can lie on your back even if you want to LOL! I remember being so excited after giving birth because I could lie on my tummy OR my back, wow, spoilt for choice!

[Wombles]

LOL curly that is so right we are very spoilt by choice !! I always went to sleep on my tummy, well now that is definately mission impossible.

I am finding that i am waking up less on my back, and if i do, i am usually on a slant and not fully flat on my back which is good. I can't say i have had any dizzyness etc.

[Serendypyty]

I didn't find out about the issues with sleeping on my back until probably the middle of my pg but at that stage it was getting a bit difficult to sleep on my back anyway, it's just not comfortable to do so anymore.
I miss being able to sleep on my tummy though

[Tia-jayne]

Oh i have heard you arent supposed to lie on your back but i forgot why. I had that yucky feeling one night a while ago cause i was on my back but i just moved to side as it felt more comfy. Lucky i did.