Back sleepers

kaniela17 · February 2014

Just had a quick question for the already mamas; if you slept on your back for most of your pregnancy did you have back labor during delivery or was is normal?
I always tried to get comfortable on my side with lots of pillows but always ended up on my back and I had horrible back labor during delivery. I was just wondering if back sleeping was the culprit, I want to get some others experiences. tia

MommyAtty · February 2014

I don't think so. I end up on my back a lot when pregnant (though never when I'm not pregnant), and I had no back labor. I think back labor is all about how the baby is positioned. At our childbirth class, they went over how to encourage the baby to be in a more optimal position which should relieve back labor.

aylafsu88 · February 2014

I agree with PP. Back labor is due to how baby is positioned. From what I read back labor is more common if LO is presenting OP instead of the normal OA. I know I had horrible back labor and my LO was in the OP position during labor. I slept on my back most of my pregnancy. It is how I sleep normally and I had a hard time only sleeping on my side. I tried pillows and they helped but I would usually flip to my back during the night as well.

Rrrrrachel · February 2014

I never sleep on my back and had back labor!

Nikgoss11 · February 2014

I have never been able to sleep on my back for any of my pregnancies and had horrible back labor with my first two so I don't think it has anything to do with it.

kaniela17 · February 2014

Awesome. Thanks so much ladies. That does help me feel like I could sleep a bit easier now.

rooftop · February 2014

When LO turned op at 36 weeks my midwife encouraged me to lean forward whenever upright and stack pillows to sleep on my front as much as possible which flipped her within a week so while back labor comes from baby's position, baby's position can be altered by mom's positioning during pregnancy. Even though laying on your back in and of itself doesn't create back labor it could encourage a baby position that does cause back labor. Just a thought.

Sam0905 · February 2014

There are some exercises you can do to encourage the baby to be in a more optimal position which will prevent back labor. My bradley instructor recommended pelvic rocks (cat/cow) and even crawling across the floor on your hands and knees. Sleeping on your back is not recommended because there is a potential for the weight of your abdomen to compress major blood vessels.

FunSizeGrl · February 2014

Haven't had our baby yet but I was doing some research and like said above, the mom's body position can affect the baby's position. The head and spine are the heaviest parts of a baby so depending on how mom sleeps/sits all day can affect what kind of position the baby ends up in which can cause different types of labor or ease of labor.

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