Pregnancy is a stage in which the woman is subjected to many changes, especially hormonal, which causes some alterations in her character and also in her sleep. In fact, there are pregnant women who say they have much more sleep and sleep better, while others get to have some episodes of insomnia or recognize that they do not fall asleep well.
To these changes produced by the gestation period, we must add the fact that many women have to change the posture in which they usually sleep so as not to harm the baby and that their own health is not at risk. It is common to wonder what is the best posture to be in bed, arising many more doubts when it comes to sleeping on your stomach, since it is not always the best option. In we are going to give you some guidelines so you can know if it is bad to sleep on your stomach while pregnant.
Sleeping on your stomach in pregnancy in the first trimester
There are many women who sleep on their stomachs. A position that they usually give up when they get pregnant for fear of harming the baby. However, this position is not harmful in itself, although it is always advisable to consult with the doctor so that he can assess this possibility and can give the most appropriate guidelines to each pregnant woman.
Most professionals agree that it is not bad to sleep on your stomach while pregnant for either the mother or the baby. In fact, in the first months of gestation there is usually no contraindication for you to sleep in this position, if it is the one in which you best fall asleep and notice that you rest more.
Sleeping on your stomach in pregnancy in the second and third trimesters
As the pregnancy progresses, the situation may change. In general, this position is not contraindicated, even if you are in the last months of pregnancy. The only thing that happens is that, as the tripita increases, you can be much more uncomfortable in this position. This means that, on many occasions, women stop sleeping on their stomachs while pregnant because for many it begins to be an impossible mission because they are not well in bed. Also, this change of position occurs unconsciously because, although the doctor has told you that you can sleep like this, the protection of the baby and the fear of harming him involuntarily always prevail in the mind.
You may also be interested in how to have a healthy pregnancy.
How to Avoid the Risks of Sleeping on Your Stomach in Pregnancy
If you have made the decision to sleep on your stomach while pregnant and you feel comfortable, there are a number of guidelines that can help you rest better throughout the time you are in bed.
- If you are going to sleep for many hours, it may be advisable to change your posture several times throughout the night so that your limbs do not fall asleep or notice discomfort in the spine. However, if you're really comfortable, you don't have to.
- In those cases where you do not feel very comfortable in that position because the tripe has already grown a lot, you can use some pillows that help you sleep on your stomach. They are pillows that are sold in those stores of articles for pregnant women and for babies. The truth is that some look like small mats. The particularity is that they have a hole or hole in the center in which you can place the belly so that it does not touch with the mattress and do not exert pressure on it. In addition, being elevated by the rest of the sides, it helps you maintain an adequate position of the spine.
The advantage of these pillows or mats is that you can easily place them on the bed or on other surfaces that are firm to take some time to rest or perform certain activities such as, for example, reading a book. You may also be interested in how to sleep better during pregnancy.
Can you sleep on your back while pregnant?
During the first months of gestation, you can sleep without any problems in any position. However, as pregnancy progresses and, especially in recent months, it is better that you never sleep on your back. The key is that you will have more back pain because the uterus already has more weight due to the size of the baby and fluids and you will notice, consequently, more pressure in the area.
But, in addition, sleeping on your back can be dangerous during pregnancy, since the inferior vena cava is pressed, which is responsible for carrying blood from the legs to the heart. In this way, if this vein is compressed frequently, it is possible that circulation, respiratory and even digestive problems appear.
Supine hypotension syndrome also usually appears, which is more common from the second trimester of gestation. Its main symptoms are dizziness, sweating, tachycardia or nausea, among others, which improve when changing position in bed.
These are tips that we give you in about whether it is bad to sleep on your stomach while pregnant, although we remind you to always consult with the doctor to indicate the most appropriate position and clarify your fears about whether or not harm is done to the baby. You may also be interested in Sleeping Positions in Pregnancy.
