Sleeping on your back vs. side

Farrah626 · April 2013

I know you're not supposed to lie flat on your back for extended lengths of time starting in the 2nd trimester, let alone sleep on your back, so about a month ago I started sleeping on my side to get myself used to it for when it was a necessity. Now I find myself waking up in the middle of the night on my back, wondering, "OMG! HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN LIKE THIS!"

Does anyone know how long you have to be on your back before it effects you and/or the baby? I'm about ready to sandwich myself between pillows to the point that I can't turn over even if I wanted to!

Chilko33 · April 2013

I asked my Dr about this at my 21 week apt and she said that my body will let me know that it has been too long and I will wake my self up due to discomfort. She is right! I find myself waking up several times a night on my back and I always wake up and need to roll to one side.

jackson290721 · April 2013

Yup. Just like PP said, it will get uncomfy when it's no longer okay. I wake up on my back all the time. Sometime it's the only thing that is comfy.

PrimRoseMama · April 2013

Truthfully, if its a problem you will wake up. I promise. Its not as big of a freak out as you are making it out to be. Sleep however you are comfortable and can get sleep.

kgrytness · April 2013

AFwifelife:
You will wake up naturally when it is no longer safe. It will be uncomfortable. I wake up all the time when I roll over to my right side, my arm and leg go numb.

This. I will even wake up when I have been on my right side too long. If I lay on my right side for too long my burps build up and my stomach hurts. (This isn't the normal case) but I never worry about what side I fall asleep on because my body will self-adjust.

MrsBlindLove · April 2013

Chilko33:
I asked my Dr about this at my 21 week apt and she said that my body will let me know that it has been too long and I will wake my self up due to discomfort. She is right! I find myself waking up several times a night on my back and I always wake up and need to roll to one side.

This exactly. It's too bad to because right now my back is the most comfortable position, I can only last 10 minutes at the most before I need to change to a side.

hollandpandas · April 2013

Thank you for asking this, I was about to post the same thing!!

Great information from this post!

HisChamaoleGirl · April 2013

kgrytness:
AFwifelife:
You will wake up naturally when it is no longer safe. It will be uncomfortable. I wake up all the time when I roll over to my right side, my arm and leg go numb.
This. I will even wake up when I have been on my right side too long. If I lay on my right side for too long my burps build up and my stomach hurts. (This isn't the normal case) but I never worry about what side I fall asleep on because my body will self-adjust.

Exactly this. I wake up if I'm on my right side or back. Apparently this kiddo is ok with my stomach or left side. I'm not all that big just yet, but my doctor said whatever is comfortable, but bc of non pregnancy related reasons he doesn't want me on my back.

malisaann · April 2013

If you really like sleeping on your back, you can also put a pillow under one of your sides so you're sort of tilted on your back. My midwife said this is a good way to prevent getting uncomfortable and is OK to do if you prefer to sleep on your back. My hips have been aching lately and sleeping on my side is uncomfortable, so I've been doing this and go most of the night sleeping tilted on my back.

menacohen · April 2013

At this point I'm freaked out because I'm still sleeping on my stomach. I try to sleep on my side but it never works.

firefly8490 · April 2013

menacohen:
At this point I'm freaked out because I'm still sleeping on my stomach. I try to sleep on my side but it never works.

I had a debate with a friend many many weeks ago about this, and what my OB told me was this:

1. there is no risk to the baby from sleeping on your stomach, you just physically cannot do it, as in you will roll.

2. basically don't sleep on your back when it gets uncomfortable.

firefly8490 · April 2013

menacohen:
At this point I'm freaked out because I'm still sleeping on my stomach. I try to sleep on my side but it never works.

I had a debate with a friend many many weeks ago about this, and what my OB told me was this:

1. there is no risk to the baby from sleeping on your stomach, you just physically cannot do it, as in you will roll.

2. basically don't sleep on your back when it gets uncomfortable.

3222w27thst · April 2013

I feel the same way.I wanted to get a maternity pillow but 50 dollars just sounded like so much to me so I bought a body pillow for 10 instead and It was horrible. It was just to big and uncomfortable. So I tried a regular pillow inbetween my legs which helped a little bit. Today is night 3 of trying to use pillows so we'll see. When I used the regular inbetween my legs I didnt end up on my back as much as before. Good luck to you.

slh6363 · April 2013

menacohen:
At this point I'm freaked out because I'm still sleeping on my stomach. I try to sleep on my side but it never works.

Same here! I keep waking up on my stomach!

slh6363 · April 2013

menacohen:
At this point I'm freaked out because I'm still sleeping on my stomach. I try to sleep on my side but it never works.

Same here! I keep waking up on my stomach!

kennazebrowsky · April 2013

I have had trouble staying comfy and bought a snoogle pregnancy pillow. Don't know why I waited so long. It has helped a lot. Keeps me comfy and helps support my back and belly.

xxpairofmedicsxx · April 2013

malisaann:
If you really like sleeping on your back, you can also put a pillow under one of your sides so you're sort of tilted on your back. My midwife said this is a good way to prevent getting uncomfortable and is OK to do if you prefer to sleep on your back. My hips have been aching lately and sleeping on my side is uncomfortable, so I've been doing this and go most of the night sleeping tilted on my back.nbsp;

I do this but with a pillow under my stomach so I'm not flat on my stomach.

As long as you're not flat on your back, you're fine for a while because the pressure is off of your inferior vena cava, but as everyone says... your body will wake you up if there's a problem.

ETA: When the baby compresses your inferior vena cava it reduces blood flow back to your heart to continue to pump, which reduces your blood pressure greatly. It's not likely a nerve being pinched or anything like that.

RedLucia · May 2013

My OB told me to just roll onto my side if I wake on my back. Also note that sleeping on the back is associated with 2 more still births out of 1000 births (an increase of like 2 still births to 4 still births). Lot of women sleep on their backs their entire pregnancy and it never affects them.

I am not willing to take that risk, but sleeping on my side makes me sorer. So I use a pillow in front and in back of me. This allows me to roll a little bit on my hip. The extra pillow against my back side helps take some of the weight off of my side.

sarahl918 · May 2013

I have had the same concern! This has probably been the #1 thing I have Googled about since becoming pregnant. All the 'authorities' say the same that the previous posters have said. I started sleeping with a pillow in front & in back of me pretty early on, just to get used to sleeping on my side. It doesn't always work though and I often wind up on my back. I had been able to sleep on my belly but now it's starting to get uncomfortable.

Last night was the first night that no matter which way I positioned myself, I was in pain. I'm sure just a taste of what's to come!

Crinita · May 2013

I have found myself in the same situation so I asked my midwife about it, and she said that unless you have blood pressure problems and as long as it is comfortable, that sleeping on the back should not be a problem.

BelhurstBride · May 2013

I never had a problem with back sleeping while pregnant with DD and did so throughout my entire pregnancy.

This time? It's quite evident it's not going to work for me. I get short of breath and wake up dozens of times throughout the night on my back, needing to roll to my side.

Sleeping on your back vs. side

Re: Sleeping on your back vs. side

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