Are you a happy mother-to-be? Congratulations! Pregnancy is a fairy-tale period of life on the one hand, and is full of many inconveniences, on the other. Every pregnant woman has to be aware of the wrong sleeping position during pregnancy. This is exceptionally important because sometimes the effects of wrong sleeping can be unpleasant and even dangerous.
BAD SLEEPING POSITION DURING PREGNANCY
It is probably unusual to hear about good and bad sleeping position during pregnancy when you only celebrate your first trimester. Still, you need to understand the importance of correct and healthy way of life and how-to-sleep guides.
We want to describe the main wrong sleeping position when pregnant. Actually, there are two of them. Talking about the poses isn’t enough, because every happy future mommy wishes also to realize the effects and possible problems that can be caused by a ‘wrong sleep pose’ at night or even during the day because pregnant women often like to take a nap at noon.
TWO WRONG SLEEPING POSITION IN PREGNANCY
#1 – BACK POSITION
Many people like to sleep on their back because this is extremely comfortable and natural. However, when you are pregnant, you are advised to forget about this bad sleeping position during pregnancy, especially in the second and third trimesters.
Experts suggest you add pillows under your back and put yourself in half-sitting position at approximately 45 degrees and try to sleep like this without getting too much pressure on your abdomen.
#2 – STOMACH POSITION
This is a very popular position loved by millions of women. Still, during the happy 9 months of pregnancy, you should forget about it. Of course, it is normal to sleep on your stomach during the first trimester, but later this is considered one of the wrong sleeping positions and mainly impossible due to a big belly and tender and extremely sensitive B.reast.
If you still dream of laying on your stomach, you should find the specific pregnancy pillow (the one that has a big hole in the middle for your stomach) and use it during your short daily naps. However, at night time you are highly advised to sleep on your side and get a good long sleep that is healthy and very important for your developing child.
Mind that both stomach and back sleeping positions are completely normal until you hit your 12-week pregnancy.
Keep reading to find out more about the problems caused by the two sleeping positions.
EFFECTS OF WRONG SLEEPING POSITION IN PREGNANCY
Why should you know the wrong sleeping position during pregnancy? For example, if you prefer to sleep on back, here are the effects you might expect:
- You might start getting breathing difficulties (shortness of breath in particular)
- There could be issues with your digestive system
- You might develop hemorrhoids
- Some women experience bad snoring problems
- You might get back pains because the abdomen creates high pressure on your spine
- There is a big possibility of swelling
- You can feel dizziness
- Your blood pressure can decrease
- Lower blood pressure might affect your baby by lowing down blood circulation to the yet unborn child
- It is a higher risk of stillbirth
ALSO READ:9 Things Never To Say to A woman When She Tells You Her pregnancy test is positive
Why could this happen during the second but more often the third trimester? The female abdomen ‘pressures’ on intestines. It also rests on the most important blood vessels. When you lay on the back, this pressure is multiplied and gets worse.
There was even a whole study conducted by experts and published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Great Britain), according to which sleeping on the back might possibly cause the birth of a dead child. At least, the research has shown that those ladies who chose to sleep like this risked 2.3 times more to get a stillbirth than moms-to-be who preferred the left side position.
The effects of sleeping on your stomach without a special pillow can also be unpleasant:
- Decrease blood flow to your body and your baby
- Heavy weight of your body pressures on the abdomen
- Breathing issues
- High pressure on blood vessels
- Other symptoms similar to what back sleeping position causes
Do not panic if you fell asleep on the right or left side but woke up on your back. According to doctors and experts, what really matters is the sleep-position chosen by a woman when she only goes to bed. Why? It is simple to explain. Your go-to-sleep position is the one where you will spend most of your sleep time, and just in case you turn on your back it will be understood by your body, and it will quickly wake you up.
Just in case you are still afraid to fall asleep because you cannot control your body at night, ask your partner or family member to check your sleeping position periodically and wake you up or help you turn on your side during sleep.
That is pretty much it. You know the possible effects of wrong sleeping position in pregnancy and the two most dangerous sleeping positions for future mommies. It is always better to discuss how you sleep with your doctor and be very careful during the nine months of expectation.
