During Pregnancy Sleeping on Your Back is Not Best For Baby
When you are pregnant it is a time for re-evaluation, and compromise, with an altruistic desire for the health of your unborn baby.
That said, in pregnancy, sleeping on your back is something that needs to be discouraged as it could be detrimental to the development of the baby.
The best position to sleep in and one that should be encouraged right from the beginning of pregnancy, is sleeping on your left side.
There are a lot of reasons why this is particularly good for you and for your unborn baby.
For pregnancy, sleeping on back, however, is definitely not a position that is encouraged by the obstetric team looking after you.
This will become clear as you read more of this article.
Sleeping on Tummy First, let me say that, if you do inadvertently roll over onto your tummy in your sleep you are not going to squash the uterus or your developing baby: they are far better protected and not liable to squashing! However, for you, sleeping in this position is likely to be quite uncomfortable and you will probably wake up the following morning with tremendous backache, if nothing else.
Lying on your side is the most comfortable position for you and, for additional comfort you can obtain one of the many maternity pillows that are now available on the market.
These can be positioned to support your unwieldy abdomen and make sleep much easier for you.
Compressing Vital Organs Lying on your back is the worst position possible and, in pregnancy sleeping on back is actively discouraged by many obstetricians.
This is mainly because the weight of the growing abdomen rests on vital organs beneath it, in effect, squashing them.
This can cause problems with the soft tissues of your digestive tract, often leading to heartburn amongst other things.
It could also make it more difficult for you to breathe comfortably as the heavy abdomen presses against your diaphragm.
This is the band of cartilage at the bottom of your rib cage that is essential for your mechanism of breathing.
Much more importantly, however, your growing abdomen could compress the aorta and vena cava, two of the biggest and most important blood vessels.
Avoiding Hemorrhoids and Varicose Veins These blood vessels have a direct effect on your blood pressure and, if compressed for any length of time, can result in your blood pressure increasing and pre-eclampsia occurring.
Squashing the vena cava, which is the main vein going back to the heart, can have a direct effect on your breathing as well, having reduced blood flow carrying oxygen to the lungs.
The vena cava being compressed can also cause your legs to swell up, with swollen ankles, varicose veins due to the soft walls of the veins bulging out under increased pressure, and hemorrhoids developing - again due to the increased pressure of blood in the veins.
This is not a happy story so take heed: in pregnancy, sleeping on back is a no-no!
That said, in pregnancy, sleeping on your back is something that needs to be discouraged as it could be detrimental to the development of the baby.
The best position to sleep in and one that should be encouraged right from the beginning of pregnancy, is sleeping on your left side.
There are a lot of reasons why this is particularly good for you and for your unborn baby.
For pregnancy, sleeping on back, however, is definitely not a position that is encouraged by the obstetric team looking after you.
This will become clear as you read more of this article.
Sleeping on Tummy First, let me say that, if you do inadvertently roll over onto your tummy in your sleep you are not going to squash the uterus or your developing baby: they are far better protected and not liable to squashing! However, for you, sleeping in this position is likely to be quite uncomfortable and you will probably wake up the following morning with tremendous backache, if nothing else.
Lying on your side is the most comfortable position for you and, for additional comfort you can obtain one of the many maternity pillows that are now available on the market.
These can be positioned to support your unwieldy abdomen and make sleep much easier for you.
Compressing Vital Organs Lying on your back is the worst position possible and, in pregnancy sleeping on back is actively discouraged by many obstetricians.
This is mainly because the weight of the growing abdomen rests on vital organs beneath it, in effect, squashing them.
This can cause problems with the soft tissues of your digestive tract, often leading to heartburn amongst other things.
It could also make it more difficult for you to breathe comfortably as the heavy abdomen presses against your diaphragm.
This is the band of cartilage at the bottom of your rib cage that is essential for your mechanism of breathing.
Much more importantly, however, your growing abdomen could compress the aorta and vena cava, two of the biggest and most important blood vessels.
Avoiding Hemorrhoids and Varicose Veins These blood vessels have a direct effect on your blood pressure and, if compressed for any length of time, can result in your blood pressure increasing and pre-eclampsia occurring.
Squashing the vena cava, which is the main vein going back to the heart, can have a direct effect on your breathing as well, having reduced blood flow carrying oxygen to the lungs.
The vena cava being compressed can also cause your legs to swell up, with swollen ankles, varicose veins due to the soft walls of the veins bulging out under increased pressure, and hemorrhoids developing - again due to the increased pressure of blood in the veins.
This is not a happy story so take heed: in pregnancy, sleeping on back is a no-no!