Beth Myers
When you’re pregnant, finding the right position for sleeping that is both comfortable and doesn’t harm your baby can be quite the challenge. It’s not really that easy to get a sound sleep with your belly in the way.
You might have heard that sleeping on your back is not advisable at all for pregnant women. This can be a challenge especially if you’re someone who’s used to sleeping on their backs. So, how bad is it really?
As your uterus reaches 20 weeks or five months and grows larger, it becomes big enough to lie on top of your inferior vena cava if you’re lying down on your back. This is the blood vessel that runs behind your uterus, allowing the blood to flow back to your heart from your feet and legs. The thing is you have something large pushing against it, it restricts the blood flow return causing the blood circulation to your body and your baby to slow down.
Studies have also reported that sleeping on your back while pregnant increases the risk of preeclampsia and may result in your baby having low birth weight, reduced fetal growth, or even stillbirth.
However, studies also say that during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy, you don’t have to stress too much over what the right sleeping position should be. So, sleeping on your back is fine during your first and second trimesters. It becomes dangerous once you reach the third trimester. Overall, it’s recommended to choose a different sleeping position while you’re pregnant.
