SLEEPING ON YOUR SIDE AND STOMACH QUESTIONS

[stefanie1976]

I have always been a sleeper on my stomach.  Since getting pregnant, I have been forcing myself to sleep on my back (which is brutal) or mostly on my side.  QUESTIONS:
1.  Is it better to sleep on one side vs. the other?
2.  Sometimes i roll over onto my stomach in the middle of the night without knowing and I wake up in a panic that im squashing the baby.  Am I overexaggerating?

Any advice on this would be great!

[Vanni713]

Yeah you're not suppose to sleep on your back since your uterus puts too much pressure on your inferior vena cava. The best side to sleep on is your left side because it allows for the maximum blood flow to the baby :)

[dnikki0928]

I was a stomach sleeper also, but I'm now 17wks and that hasn't been comfy in a long time! I got a body pillow and I'll start on my left side but I'm positioned over more than lying directly on my hips (that does hurt!!). Then, when I wake up to pee I come back to bed and put my pillow on the other side of me or I use DH's legs lol. I still wake up in the middle of the night and find myself on my back and usually the baby starts kicking me probably to tell me I'm squishing it lol!
If your hips are hurting that bad from lying on your sides, maybe get one of those squishy foam mattress toppers to absorb that extra pressure? Just a thought!

[LittlePickle]

Sleeping on a recliner helps....so I hear.   I have been sleep on my sofa off and on and really that is the best sleep I have gotten.  It makes it easier and more comfortable to sleep on your side because you have the back support of the sofa.  Plus there is noone else around to disturb you. Having a very comfy sofa doesn't hurt either.

[texaschica]

I have never been a stomach sleeper - but I'm normally a back sleeper.  Sleeping on my sides (my Dr said had to after 18 wks) is giving me so much trouble!  I wake up about once every hour to turn over b/c my hip will feel like I have the weight of my whole body resting right on it.  I'm like a hamburger on the grill getting flipped every so often.  And of course I wake up completely each time.  After about 5 hours I end up having to get up and not going to back to sleep for a while because BOTH hips hurt so much I can't stand to lie on either of them.  I've tried body pillows, pillows between my knees at all different thicknesses, pillows behind my back, etc. Nothing seems to work.  I even had a massage at my chiropractor yesterday and she focused a lot on my hips.  I think that just made it worse!  Any suggestions?

[crystalwolf]

I am also a stomach sleeper, sometimes I can sleep on my back, but I hate sleeping on my side, it is so uncomfortable, the doctor said it was ok to sleep on your stomach or back as long as you feel comfortable doing so, at some point it won't feel good to sleep on your back anymore so you'll have to sleep on your side. I got a body pillow to help me get comfortable,and have been sleeping on my side, switching, for the last few weeks, I am now 17 weeks, and can't sleep on my stomach anymore, after a couple of weeks waking up sore off and on all night, I finally got used to it.

[LittlePickle]

The left side is the best way to sleep when pregnant because it helps with blood flow.  You aren't suppose to sleep on your back after the fourth month or so because it puts too much pressure on your insides.  My doctor said I could sleep on my stomach as long as it is comfortable.  I too am a stomach sleeper and I kinda do a half stomach have left side sleep with the help of a pillow....kinda like the position your in when you get a prenatal massage, if you have had one of those. (leg bent on top of pillow, other leg straight)  It is actually pretty comfortable, but annoying if you want to flip sides in the middle of the night. :)