Why sleep on the left side?

[Livinthedream]

Hi y'all. Am wondering why all the books say the left is the best side to lay on. Is it to avoid squishing organs on the right?

[Kazbah]

It's to aid blood circulation & oxygen transfer.

[Schmickers]

There is a large blood vessel that goes to the lower half of the body called the inferior vena cava. Supposedly if you sleep on the right side the uterus can compress this blood vessel and limit blood flow. To be honest, I've not heard of a case of it happening, and I'd like to think that we are a bit better designed than that.

[tutmae]

I've been waking up on my right side in the morning sometimes. Do you guys think this is a problem? I don't feel dizzy or anything and I acually seem to sleep a lot better than on my left. If I sleep on my back I have a pillow under my legs and sometimes a bit under my backside on the right hand side to keep my hips tilted a bit to the left.

[MantaRay]

My ob told me it doesn't matter which side you lie on. And lying on my right side never caused me a problem, although lying on my back did once - I was only on my back for a few minutes for an ob exam and whammo, major drop in blood pressure.

[hj1981]

My OB said the same - and throughout my whole pregnancy i slept on my right hand side - even tho i use to prefer my left, but bub would kick me like crazy until i rolled over, so now my right side is my fav side and i didnt have any problems!

[Alan]

You can sleep on any side. It is reccomended that you don't sleep flat on your bacl later in your pregnancy

[tutmae]

YAY! Right side it is!! Does it count as flat on your back if you sleep with your legs raised and your head on 2 really fat pillows?

[Alan]

If they are really really reeally fat then it may be ok, but I suggest that you put a pillow under one of your butt cheeks or lower back so that you are turned slightly to one side

[tutmae]

Neat. Shall do! Thanks for the help!!

[Livinthedream]

Thankyou very much. Am glad to hear it doesnt seem to be a prob to sleep on my right. Cause thats my fav side and thats how I wake up, but up until about 3 weeks ago sleeping on my back wasnt a problem either. So it prob will change
Have a good day, Shells

[Bridg]

Shellsbells- I have never heard of not being able to sleep on the right side.
At the moment, Im having trouble laying half on my belly, and when I lay on my right side, the baby pushes into my bladder.

[DANNIIM]

I prefer to sleep on my left for this pregnancy as i think because bub has it's back along my left side it becomes to uncomfy for the right side. Wouldn't it more depend on the position of bub as to which side is more comfy?

[Miss E]

Just wondering if anyone knows when you should stop sleeping on you back/stomach? Is it just when it becomes uncomfortable, or is there a certain point where you should stop?

[black_rose]

You will get really uncomfortable when you try sleep on your tummy, I am a tummy sleeper and haven't been able to sleep without pillows since about 14 weeks. I use the pillows to lie on my side almost on my tummy I kind of hang off them IYKWIM!