Sleeping on back ok or not?

Does anyone know when i have to stop sleeping on my back? :)

they sya you should stop sleeping on your back pretty much straight away when you are pregnant or try to limit it down to no longer then 20 mins at a time hard i know!! they say it pinches blood vessels or nerves or something like that and can limit oxygen to the placenta you are ment to sleep on your left side which is ment to promote blood flow and oxygen. hope that is a bit of help

wow really??? id never heard that??? i sleep on my side usually but sometimes i do fall asleep on my back is it really important to avoid this?

I have read thats its from 12weeks on wards. The best side for sleeping is your left side.
I am mostly a side sleeper, but, occassionally, i do tend to be more comfy on my back, in which case, i stay like that.
I do find however that having an extra pillow to cuddle helps me to stay on my side, or, if am am wanting to sleep on my back, i put it under my right side.

i am trying not to sleep on my back, and have been getting a sore shoulder cause subconscientiously (sp?) i know I can't be on my back, sometimes i just have to do it.

Is it that detrimental at 9wks???

Mum2bee - that is a good idea the pillow. is there a reason for the right side?

i am only nearly 9 weeks as well but i guess if its twelve weeks onwards getting into the habbit is a good idea... why don't ppl tell u this lol i have regular appts with my gp but have heard nothing about it????

something to do with where the blood supply veins. I am at work, so cant pull out my trusty little book and give you the exact details. Your left side is way better to sleep on, and so by putting pillow under my right side, sorta elevates me in that general direction.

Hi,

This is a different perspective on sleeping on your back from my dr.
I checked this with my ob last appt (i'm now 28 weeks) and he said sleep wherever you're comfortable. He said you're body will naturally want to sleep on your back at some point and that if there does happen to be a problem with the vena cava (which he said is highly unlikely) that you will most certainly know, and simply change position to your side and all will be good. he said there's a lot of exaggeration about this topic.

I also read in one pregnancy mag about this that it was a no-no from 20 weeks and it was then also covered in a mag the same month in a article on myths about pregnancy saying it was ok.

So basically who knows!!!!

ps, i've slept on my back on and off from the beginning and have had no concerns.

wow, yes, no, yes, no.

of course everyone wants to do the right thing for the baby.

difficult to know for sure if magazines tell you one thing and the dr tells you another.

i will be asking at my first 12 wk appointment i think. better type it on a sheet to take or I will forget.

I might try the pillow thing. my shoulder started to hurt last night and actually cracked a bit when i tried to move. weird!

I know in first aid courses they teach that if you have to resuscitate(sp?) a pregnant women you need to put something under her right hip because pregnant women shouldn't lie on there back. I think the idea of sleeping with pillow under right side is a good idea.

bridee - i have been told the same thing re: first aid course.

Really, at the end of the day thou, its one of those things where 10 years ago, no mention of how to sleep was ever made. Like anything, they just say it increases the risk of cutting the blood supply, but, by what porportion? Dont know Might be a chance of 1 in a 1000 or something. KWIM?
My figuring with this pretty much, if you can avoid it, like all potential risks, then by all means go for it, but, dont keep your self awake at night worring about how you are sleeping. Cause at the end of the day (or night) we are all going to sleep on our backs at some stage during our sleep, but, i try to elimate it as much as i can.

Wow I never knew that I always sleep on my back because my hips hurt otherwise, can you get specialised pillows to support hips and back to make sleeping on your side more comfortable?

A long pillow can really make a difference as it is much easier to sleep on your side.

I got told by a physio and my midwife to not lie/sleep flat on your back after about 15 weeks. They did say it was ok to be relined on your back, just not good to be flat.
Ive been sleeping on my side with a pillow udner my belly

Sleeping on your back isnt great coz as some of you have already written is that there is a major blood vessel that runs that way and the pressure from the baby can reduce the flow. Problem is that when you are asleep, you may turn onto your back... not too much you can do about that. What happens with me is that after a while on my back, I will wake up because my hands or feet start to go tingley due to lack of blood to the extremities. Pillows do help, but I always seem to kick them out of the way.

ive just reached 38 weeks and there is no way i can sleep on my back i get so jelous looking at partner sleeping he looks so comfy on his back and sleeping on his tummy!!! but since i ve gotten so big it really hurts to sleep on my back if i even lay on my back for 5mins it is so painfull i dont know if this is because i am already a mother with another on the way so my back aint quite as good as it used to be but i find it so funny you need like a pillow under your head one under your belly one inbetween your legs then one to cuddle. but like i said in the post at the start that is only information i have read who knows what is right and what is wrong if you followed everything you were ment to whilst being preg then you wouldnt be able to even get out of bed so do what feels right good luck with pregnecy everyone.

minimatron - i often have the dead hands in the mornings if I sleep on my belly with my hands under the pillow.