I can't sleep on my left side

pishytish · May 2012

I am trying so hard. I just can't stay that way. I fall asleep on my left side but I always end up on my back. Any tricks?

Beeautiful · May 2012

Have you tired a pregnancy pillow or body pillow? I am a tummy sleeper, so I am very uncomfortable sleeping on my side at night, I find propping a body pillow under my tummy helps to keep me from rolling over in the middle of the night... It's also more comfortable.

pishytish · May 2012

I have tried a pillow and even tried putting a balled up blanket at my back, but I still managed to wake up on my back. Frustrating. The doctor specifically told me that sleeping on my back was the worst position and that I shouldn't do it.

krissyd0330 · May 2012

Guys, please help me out. I'm 14 weeks and I ALWAYS sleep on my tummy. Should I not be???? Now I'm nervous that I'm hurting the baby

Beeautiful · May 2012

I have heard you shouldn't sleep on your back, I haven't heard too many warnings about sleeping on your belly.... I know sleeping on your side is best - especially your left side as it improves blood flow to baby.

mick64 · May 2012

Relax, by the time baby is big enough for this to really be dangerous to the baby, you won't feel comfortable sleeping on your back or belly.

I used a body pillow plus like 3 or 4 other pillows last time to position me, but there's no way I could sleep on only my left side at night because I'd wake up with horrible pain and numbness after sleeping on one side for a couple hours and I'd have to switch sides. I've never heard of anybody having issues because they didn't sleep on their left side 100% of the time. A lot of pregnant women have never even heard that recommendation.

I went ahead and bought a Snoogle maternity pillow for this time and I love it. It is so comfortable and I can tell that it's going to be helpful for later on when my belly gets huge and heavy.

JulieN0704 · May 2012

I sleep on my back and lately it's been a little uncomfortable for some reason so I've been trying to stop. I think it's psychological because I know I need to stop doing it soon. The only problem is that when I sleep on either side for too long, I get stabbing (I guess ligament?) pains and I have to reposition. I haven't been able to stay asleep for more than 2-3 hours at a time because I'm constantly repositioning due to the sharp pains. I want to sleep NOW because I know I'm only going to get more uncomfortable! This shouldn't be a problem so early!

LivingItUpInUP · May 2012

I will often wake up on my back. I have a pregnancy pillow so my I'm at a slight angle laying on that usually and not totally flat on my back. I have heard that you will wake up if you're doing any damage to yourself or your baby because you will be uncomfortable. But I know the feeling about worrying about every little thing!

techg0ddess · May 2012

When doing my research (google baby!) on this one (I'm a right side and back sleeper), what I found was that basically sleep however you are most comfortable. Later in the pregnancy they say if you sleep on your back, you could end up putting pressure on the big main artery going down that side and it causes you to become dizzy and light headed but you will wake before doing any damage. Sleeping on the tummy gets uncomfortable just because the belly starts to go get big and you can't lay like that

. Right side sleeping later in pregnancy is again a pressure issue but this time from the baby putting pressure on the organs on that side (mainly the liver if i remember correctly). Sleeping on the left side basically gives you the optimum position so that baby and you get the optimum blood supply without undue pressure on anything else. But most researches just said, sleep however you are most comfortable because that's better for baby then not getting any sleep.

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