How do you sleep comfortably when you are pregnant?

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Pregnancy
Taking care of yourself with baby on the way.

Sleeping While Pregnant

This is a common question because we have all heard that it is best to sleep on our left sides. The reason is that the vena cava, a large vein which returns blood from the legs to the uterus, runs along the right side of the spine. Blood flow may be improved by staying off the back or lying on the left side.

Low blood pressure symptoms, such as dizziness and nausea may result from lying on your back after the first trimester. If they don't, you are probably fine! Back pain may also result from sleeping on your back, because of the weight of your uterus.

Here are some suggestions from the net and from FAQ Farmers:

• "I almost always sleep on my back. My doctor said not to worry about it because if I were compressing an artery, there would be symptoms (like legs getting numb) that would warn me to roll over. I do, however, sleep propped up on pillows because I usually read myself to sleep in a semi-sitting position, so I'm not really flat on my back."

• "I sleep on my back and both sides as well. I haven't gained that much weight and am at 21 weeks, so I figure the back-sleeping position is still OK, and I would feel something bad if it wasn't. I have heard that the left side is 'best,' so I try to use that as much as possible - with a pillow between my knees. However, now I've been getting a cramp in my left leg which makes it uncomfortable to sleep on that side!"

• "I was a back & side-sleeper before getting pregnant. I now try to limit myself to largely sleeping on my left side, as suggested as being the good thing to do for my baby & my body. I do miss sleeping on my back but have found that sleeping on my left side with the aid of a body pillow has really helped me to sleep comfortably.

• "I'd recommend that you try a body pillow. I bought mind from a bed/bath speciality shop. They carried both down-filled and polyester-filled pillows. I thought I'd prefer the down but the poly pillow was actually softer and squishier so I opted for it. BTW, it was around $20 and came with a pillow case."

• Though everyone told me to sleep on my left side with tons of pillows, I've found using no pillows at all has worked best.

• I have been trying to avoid laying on my back but it feels so good to lay on my back even though I am 22 weeks along. It feels as though it relaxes my back and eases backaches when I lay flat on my back. I don't want to stop it. I guess my body will tell me when it's time to stop.

• It is only in the last few weeks that you should not sleep on your back for the reasons outlined above, but you will probably not be comfortable anyway (that was speaking as a midwife). Speaking as a mother of twins, towards the end of my pregnancy I slept on my side with a pillow under my neck, one in my back, one under the bump and one between my knees. You can vary it according to what is comfortable for you. You may also want to sleep alone as you and your partner will need all the sleep you can get before you start with the broken nights.

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