Can You Sleep On Your Back With A Pregnancy Pillow
Unfortunately, the answer is usually no.
Sleeping on your back is not ideal during pregnancy because, as your little peanut grows, the weight can compress your blood vessels.
This means that theres less blood flowing to your uterus, and it can also make you feel sick and lightheaded.
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The best position to sleep in during pregnancy is on your left side.
But if youre still fighting the natural urge to sleep on your back, pregnancy pillows can stop you from rolling over into your favorite position while you sleep.
Ease Of Changing Sleep Positions
Adjusting sleep positions seems like a challenging science project for most women. You have to move your whole body slowly and strategically some women even sit up, then change positions.
Your legs cramp up, or you may experience discomfort around your hip area.
Pregnancy pillows are a game-changer as they make these adjustments effortless. All you have to do is place the pillow between your legs to reduce discomfort, making it easier for you to turn.
How To Use The Pregnancy Pillow The 4 Best Ways
If you want to learn how to use the pregnancy pillow, it will depend on the body area youre targeting. There are different pregnancy pillows, but most of them are versatile for various uses and support. Therefore, understanding its usage depends on where you want to support or need tension relief.
It would also be best if you learn how to make a pregnancy pillow. This way, you can customize its size and shape to complement your body type. But first, read this guide below to understand pregnancy pillows and what they provide.
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Best Pregnancy Pillow For Stomach Sleepers
We feel you, stomach sleepers. If you dont mind looking like youre white water rafting belly-down while you sleep, this inflatable pregnancy pillow with a hole in the center might be right for you. Adjust the amount of air in it to suit your comfort as your belly grows. Desperate times call for desperate measuresand if you really need sleep, its worth a try!
Buy it: Pregnancy Pillow by Cozy Bump, $80,
About the expert:Christian Pope, DO, FACG, is an ob-gyn at St. Lukes Hospital in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He received his medical degree at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and his obstetrics and gynecology training at the Tufts University School of Medicine, Baystate Medical Center.
Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.
Plus, more from The Bump:
When Should I Start Using A Pregnancy Pillow
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As mentioned above, there really is no right or wrong time to start using a pregnancy pillow, but there are certain weeks where you might find that using a pregnancy pillow is more beneficial.
Typically, 20 weeks and up is where youll feel the most comfort using a pregnancy pillow, but you can certainly start before if you feel the need. Around 20 weeks is when the womb starts to get bigger to accommodate for the growing baby. This can result in round ligament pain and other aches.
Discover the best pregnancy pillows for your office chair.
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The Absolute Best Pregnancy Pillow
I am sure your doctor has informed you that at some point, sleeping on your back is a HUGE no, no during pregnancy. Sleeping on your stomach or your back will cause issues for you and with your babys development. We are talking lack of blood flow and nutrients to your baby, breathing issues for you, digestive problems, low circulation, and dare I mention hemorrhoids? Are you taking me seriously yet? Good. Side sleeping is your only healthy option, your left side to be exact. Sleeping on your left side increases the number of nutrients and blood flowing to the placenta and your growing baby. If you are not a side sleeper, your only hope to coping for your last 36 weeks of pregnancy is the absolute best pregnancy pillow for your needs. If you are dealing with heartburn you may need to use additional pillows to sleep at an incline. Otherwise, a pregnancy pillow will ease any hip, leg, and back pains during pregnancy. Back pains alone are experienced by 50 to 70 percent of women who are pregnant. Let me tell you from experience, a pregnancy pillow hugs you. Lets be completely honest with each other, every pregnant woman could use several hugs throughout pregnancy. Making another human being is hard work!
You Deserve To Sleep Peacefully While Pregnant
Buying a pregnancy pillow is one of the best investments for moms-to-be. Improve your chances of getting a good nights sleep, minimize your pain and discomfort, and feel more prepared to take on your motherly duties once your baby arrives. Stop wrestling with inferior alternatives and find the right maternity pillow that will help you sleep peacefully throughout your pregnancy.
References
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The Challenges Of Sleeping Throughout Pregnancy
As you may know if youre pregnant, many pregnant women face various sleeping issues throughout their entire pregnancy. Even if you are very early on in your pregnancy, you may have started to face some of these issues.
Many women suffer from sleeping issues throughout pregnancy, which is why a pregnancy pillow can be a valuable purchase. Knowing how to use a pregnancy pillow is crucial to combating specific pregnancy-related sleeping symptoms.
How To Sleep With A Small Pregnancy Pillow
To sleep with a small pregnancy pillow like a wedge cushion is more straightforward than others. Put aside its slop beneath the stomach. Later on, you need to place the flatter side of it down to bed. However, it helps you to get the support for the belly.
Then put it to snuggle straightway. This highly adaptable posture relaxes you a lot even with a small maternity pad. Its easy to use with MASSIVE benefits with its small size and flexibility in qualities.
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Preggle Chic Jersey Xl Extra Long Comfort Air
The Preggle is the most unique pregnancy pillow on the market for its J-shape. Pregnant mothers swear this to be the absolute best pregnancy pillow because you can use your own pillow for neck support. As you may have noticed the other pregnancy pillows are shaped so that you used it as your head pillow as well. The issue with these designs is that sometimes the neck support is off. If you love everything about your pregnancy pillow but have neck pain complaints, consider switching to the Preggle Chic. Do you suffer heartburn during pregnancy and use a mountain of pillows to sleep at an incline in order to help it? This pregnancy pillow will fit into your heartburn elimination routine without any issues. The Preggle is currently the only J-shaped pregnancy pillow on the market, which helps it stand alone as possibly the best pregnancy pillow.
What Are The Advantages Of Using A Pregnancy Pillow
Undoubtedly, the pregnancy pillow serves the purpose of comfort and support to the body of a pregnant woman. Yet many other benefits are as under:
- It helps to ease the body pain -Pregnancy is a time when the weight of the body keeps increasing, putting pressure on the legs, hips as well as back. It is essential to offer proper rest, and that can only happen when the mother gets to sleep correctly. Using a pregnancy pillow helps to provide adequate comfort and support, alleviating body pains, and aches.
- It boosts the blood circulation- It is advisable to sleep sideways in pregnancy as the blood circulation is proper though it is a difficult way to sleep, so using a pregnancy pillow on the side helps to sleep up comfortably, thus enhancing the blood circulation.
- It offers relaxation and better sleeping time- Having a good amount of rest is the mantra to a safe and smooth pregnancy, and a pregnancy pillow does the needful.
- It has great benefits post-delivery-The maternity pillow will be of use even after the birth of the baby as it can even help to put the baby in the right position at the time of feeding and help the baby to latch on in a proper manner.
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Best Pregnancy Pillow For Pregnancy
Who could have imagined sleep during pregnancy would become a challenge? Looks like a job for hands down the best pregnancy pillow. The video demonstrates the struggle beautifully. Who else has collected every pillow in the house attempting to get comfortable enough to sleep? Stop. Take a deep breath. Breathe out slowly repeating after me, I need the best pregnancy pillow.
Tips To Improve Sleep During Pregnancy
- Eat small meals before going to bed as it will help you avoid the problem of heartburn and acid reflux. It is also best to avoid spicy and fatty foods as they can disturb your digestion.
- Stay active during the day by exercising and doing yoga. The exercise will improve blood circulation in your body and also help you sleep well.
- Drink a lot of fluids during the day but dont drink a lot before going to bed as waking up in the middle of the night will disturb your sleep.
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Why You Need A Body Pillow During Pregnancy
Unfortunately for back and stomach sleepers, side sleeping is best during pregnancy. Stomach sleeping is off the table for obvious reasons sleeping on a beach ball that kicks isnt particularly relaxing. But back sleeping is also discouraged since it can compress an important vein that carries blood to your baby.
That means side sleeping is the only option when you’re further along in pregnancy, but your growing bump will also put increased pressure on your hips and back and that’s where a pregnancy body pillow comes in handy. These pillows provide support to different spots on your body some to your back, others to your knees, others just to your belly and some to all of the above. Using one can make you more comfortable when you head to bed at night and help prevent aches and pains in the morning.
Best Pregnancy Pillow For Back Pain
Combat pregnancy-induced back pain with the Leachco Back ‘N Belly pillow. The C-shape style offers equal support for your back and belly, and helps align your hips to reduce back strain. The pillow has inner contours designed to hug your natural curves, with a supportive wedge for your neck, shoulders and baby bump. And, like many of the best pregnancy pillows, this option has a removable cover thats machine-washable.
Buy it: Leachco Soothing White Back ‘N Belly Chic Supreme Contoured Body Pillow, $119, Wayfair.com
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How To Make Sure You Choose The Right Massage Pillow For Pregnancy
If you are an early or new user, it might be difficult for you to find the proper massage pillow for pregnancy. You might be unaware of certain facets of the massage pillow for pregnancy that you might have been thinking about. But we are here to help you out with that! The recommendations below might be helpful in your chase:
Benefits Of Bringing A Pregnancy Pillow:
Tip:The pregnancy pillow comes in handy even after delivery by helping you get your baby into a comfortable position and assisting in breastfeeding. It is also beneficial for women who have undergone difficult childbirths and need time to recover.Shutterstock
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Overall Best Pregnancy Pillow
Our first pick, made by PharMeDoc, won our 2021 Best of Pregnancy award for top pregnancy pillow. The C-shaped pillow surrounds you completely, front and back. Use it to sleep in any position as your aches and pains shift during pregnancy. You can even adjust it into a sitting position for nursing postpartum. Better yet, the pillow comes with a 100 percent jersey knit cotton cover thats machine-washable. Still not convinced? This product has thousands of five-star reviews on Amazon, with one happy customer saying that this pillow has been one of the best purchases of my life. High praise indeed!
Buy it: PharMeDoc Pregnancy C-Shape Full Body Pillow, $48,
How To Use A Pregnancy Pillow And Finding The Right One For You
Being pregnant is a beautiful thing! Expecting a lovely baby after a few months can bring joy and excitement to the family.I remembered the first time I knew that I was pregnant. We were very thrilled with the news that we invited all our friends and neighbors and started a surprise baby on the way party.
But, the months of bearing a child can also be physically tiring, and I consistently experience having pains in my lower back and legs. I was suffering for several weeks and had a few sleepless nights. How would you sleep with all the cramps and aches in the legs accompanied by a throbbing feel on the lower back?
More…
Then, I came across pregnancy pillows. I thought it was just any ordinary pillow but then other mothers recommend it, so I gave it a try. I was thinking how to use a pregnancy pillow properly and what to look for, so I did several some research.
In this post, you will find the information you will need to know about pregnancy pillows and how you can choose the right kind for you.
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The Best Way To Sleep While Pregnant
The American Pregnancy Association recommends sleeping on your side, specifically your left side. Sleeping on your right side can put extra pressure on your liver, especially when your body is sacrificing room for your organs to accommodate your baby. Sleeping on your left will avoid this issue, and is also better for circulation, which means more blood flow for the baby, too.
We know you might feel restless when you have to sleep on the same side all night, every night. But sleeping on side pregnancy is really the best thing you can do to keep yourself and your baby safe.
Pregnancy can lead to increased body temperature and night sweats through the night, so be sure to check out our list of Best Mattresses for Hot Flashes, Night Sweats, and Menopause.
How We Made Our Picks For The Best Pregnancy Pillow
To create this list of the best pregnancy pillows, we asked pregnant women what they found most useful when it came to pillows for each of the three trimesters of pregnancy. We also took inventory of our What To Expect community board to find out which pregnancy pillows our moms loved the most during their nine months and beyond.
Below, the best pregnancy body pillows to help you catch some zzz’s.
See registry advice and a custom baby gear checklist
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How To Use Wedge Pregnancy Pillow
The goal of a pregnancy wedge is to take the pressure off your torso as it supports your belly. The wedge should rest beneath your belly, with the thin end closest to your body. Ensure that it is positioned close enough to your body that it is taking all of the weight of your belly. You should feel a lessening of discomfort in your body as your belly stops pulling on your spine and hips. The most important part of using a wedge is making sure it is all the way underneath your belly. If it is not taking all the weight of your belly, it isnt doing you much good.
How To Use Pregnancy Pillow Correctly To Sleep On It
Sleeping with a pregnancy pillow is purely dependent upon the shape of the pillow you are using. For example, a U-shape pregnancy pillow can be used to support the full-body, while a C-shaped pillow can be used to support the belly, neck, and knee too.
There is a lot of different types of pregnancy pillow, and each one can be used to the target a specified part of your body.
There is no hard and fast rule on how to use one, but here are some tips on using each one that you will find helpful.
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Dimensions And Body Support
You first need to keep in mind which areas cause the most discomfort and need extra cushioning. Be it your legs, hips, back, or belly you need to keep that in mind and consider the fact that youd be using it the entire trimester. Also, you should consider your bed size, as in, the availability of space in which you are to use the maternity pillow. Keeping the maternity pillows lightweight can also come in handy.
