Most pregnant women — as well as BTDT (been there, done that) mothers — are well-aware that the recommended sleep position during pregnancy is “SOS” (sleep on side). The left side, in particular, is favored by doctors because it helps increase the amount of blood and nutrients that reach the placenta and the baby.
Sleeping on your back should be avoided due to the extra weight that will be put on your intestines and major blood vessels. And sleeping on your stomach is not recommended either, for obvious reasons.
Well, it’s confession time again. During my pregnancy with Claire, I hardly ever slept on my side. I continued to sleep on my back and stomach, and only stopped sleeping on my stomach during my third trimester, when I started to solely sleep on my back.
It’s not that I didn’t try sleeping on my side — believe me, I did — but I just could NOT get comfortable, especially with my hip pains. I tried pillows between my legs as well as pillows behind my back, but no position beat out my lying flat on my back.
Seeing as regular pillows only contributed to my discomfort, I knew that I would
only be wasting money on expensive maternity pillows like this. (image source)
Additionally, when Claire became large and strong enough for me to feel her move, she would kick like crazy whenever I would lay on my left side. She seemed to like the right side better, but only slightly.
When I discussed my sleeping position with my OB, he told me not to worry about it too much. “Believe me, you will start to get uncomfortable before any harm is done!”
With this in mind, I continued to sleep flat on my back, because this was the position that I was the most comfortable in, and this was the position that Claire seemed to favor the most.
And you know what? My suspicions were confirmed when I was labor, and Claire’s heart rate was continuously being monitored. Because whenever I lay on my side, her heart rate would increase…and it would actually shoot through the roof whenever I flipped on over to the left side! Apparently, she was positioned so that my laying on the left caused her much discomfort in the womb.
So I guess the lesson here is that you should always trust your body, and trust what the baby inside is trying to tell you. And that you don’t always need to follow every little advice to the teeth.
As for this current pregnancy with BebeDeux, she doesn’t seem to like my sleeping on the left side either! She seems to prefer my lying on my back, or on my right side. (And I’m willing to bet that this can be confirmed if we were to monitor her heart rate.)
P.S. — I’m guest blogging over at Married Up with Wine today! Please go say hi, and be sure to check out the rest of Mandy’s awesome blog!
