Almost 20 weeks and sleeping on back?

Hi everyone,

I'm having a dilemma and I'm just wondering how much of an issue it is.
I know that lying on your back is not a good idea during pregnancy as a primary blood vessel resides beside the spine that feeds oxygen to baby.

When I'm conscious I don't lie on my back if I can help it, but when I'm asleep and I wake during the night I find that I'm lying on my back!! Argh! :doh:

Has anyone had this, and do you know whether or not it's a big problem?

I know they advise against it but can it really cause much harm to bubba?
I've got one DS but can't remember if this was the case last time...

Thanks!
Allyce.

I think if it is not causing you any discomfort then it is okay. I did it and told my midwife and she said that people carry in different ways and I actually didnt have a big bump on front and felt comfy to lie on my back so I did. I think I sub conciously might have rooled over during the night if it was causing pain but I didnt even notice.

HTH

If you are concerned try popping a small pillow under your hip. I have to sleep on my back now because any assymetrical movement causes huge issues with my pelvis, so my Ob told me to be as elevated as possible to reduce the baby weight on my spine. I do wake in the middle of the night with bad back pain but it s not as bad as my pelvis, so I just move as much as I can and have even pulled out the wheat pillow for it.

Like alioops said, it's only a problem when it becomes a problem for you. With DD I lay on my back all the way through my pregnancy with no effects..this pregnancy if I lay on my back for more than a few minutes I feel lightheaded. It's different in everyone, I think they just recommend against it so that those women that will be effected are aware of it. You can't help what you do in your sleep either! I would only worry if you get dizzy or your feet get numb or you feel weird. Sleep peacefully otherwise (whilst you still can!).

Thanks so much for all your replies: Alibaby, Alioops and Rachel.
I'll slepp much better with those things in mind!
Thanks again and take care with all your pregnancies also.
Much appreciated :)
:hug:

I fall asleep on my side and when I wake up have been on my back for hours. It must be comfortable.

I have a pillow under my legs and one on the side for my belly. The pillow under my legs rocks!! I think I'll probably end up with that even when DS2 is born.

I keep waking up during the night finding I'm on my back too. I wouldn't worry about it, if it was making your body uncomfortable while you are sleeping, then you would roll over onto your side. And as my DF said to me...if it was really terribly bad for pg women to sleep on their backs, they'd make you sleep in a big cage or brace or something to stop you from rolling over...LOL. He has an over-active imagination...lol

I might try the pillow idea, I've seen those body pillows that look awesome (DH might become jealous though if I make him squish to the end of the bed for my new friend ;) lol).
Lol... A big cage ey? That's cute in a weird way!
Thanks ladies, I thought I was being paranoid - just wasn't sure!
Good luck with your bubbas! :)
:hug:

I love sleeping on my back!! I was never able to get to sleep on my back when i wasn't pregnant, but now it's the most comfortable position for me. Plus if i'm laying down reading i can prop my book up on my tummy! (despite peanut kicking the book really really hard all the time!!)

I must be on a diff planet cause I thought you HAD to sleep on your back and not your tummy! I alternate between back and side. Oh O!!!

Hi,

I have a body pillow and it is fantastic. It gives me a much more comfortable sleep. The only problems I have had is when I get a cramp and need to get out of bed quickly it's a little hard to move the pillow. And my DH pinches it when I get up to go to the toilet. He loves it almost as much as I do :rofl:

I too was sleeping on my back some of the night until recently. I have now found that my belly feels too heavy on me so I will sometimes lie kinda half on my back and half on my side. The midwife at my parenting classes said that if it was affecting Peanut then I'd get kicked to roll over. So I don't think there's too much to worry about.

I too am guilty of waking up on my back...now I just put a pillow back there and I end up kinda propped over...;)

The advice I got at our hospital physiotherapy class was that you should try and avoid it. They said if you wake up and you are on your back, don't freak out, just roll to your side, and that chances are you woke up because it wasn't quite right.

They made a very strong point that just because you don't feel dizzy and light headed lying flat on your back it doesn't mean that the blood flow isn't restricted. For you to feel sick, the blood flow has to be significantly restricted. But any sort of restriction for an extended period of time will effect bubs (not necessarily in a disastrous way) even if you are unaware of it.

Getting around it is pretty easy. Just prop yourself up, or try putting a pillow under one side so you can still lay on your back, but your not flat on your back.

Like the other girls said a body pillow is the best investment you can make!!! I got mine when I was about 16 weeks and love it to death!

I know that this is prob a stupid question, but reading this post i was just wondering the benefit of the body pillow vs a normal pillow. I've been using a normal pillow to put between my legs and prop my belly on when sleeping on my side, but am starting to get sore hips at night and end up on my back, then back to my side etc etc. How do people sleep on the body pillow - can you lie on it on your tummy, or do you just use it to support your whole body when sleeping on the side...as I started with, sorry if this is a stupid question :doh:
FG

Farmgirl: Not a stupid question :D There are none I've been told!

Anyway's I sleep with my body pillow running under my bump and between my legs. Then when I roll over I hold onto it with my legs and just re-position it under my bump. I find that because of the length of it the body pillow gives me greater support. I do find that, even with the body pillow, my hips go numb sometimes. I'm guessing that's from the extra weight that is being put on them at the moment and would happen no matter what type of pillow I was sleeping on.

When you are no longer using your body pillow as a body pillow it also covers the full width of a QS bed, so you can snuggle up to DH without having your head between the pillows :lol:

FG - To provide support for your belly and something for between your legs it is helpful to have a much bigger pillow, and if you happen to have the bed to yourself you still have something to cuddle. If you are a back sleeper it also provides enough support to be under your hip without the rest of your body twisting because it goes from shouler to mid calf (or knee if you are really tall) which helps to reduce stiffness.