One of the things that pregnant women often complain about is discomfort while sleeping, especially when the stomach is getting bigger. Various sleeping positions were tried, including the supine position. However, can pregnant women sleep on their back? Find out the answer in this article.
The body of pregnant women will experience many changes as the gestational age increases. Not infrequently these body changes cause discomfort, including during sleep.
To reduce discomfort during sleep due to an enlarged stomach, pregnant women need to change sleeping positions. However, some sleeping positions are considered less good and can affect the condition of the fetus. One of them is sleeping on your back.
Can pregnant women sleep on their back?
Sleeping on your back while pregnant is actually safe. how come, as long as it is not done for too long or if the gestational age is still in the first trimester. However, for some pregnant women, this position is often felt less comfortable and makes sleep less sound.
Why is sleeping on your back considered bad for pregnant women? As the gestational age increases, the size of the uterus will increase. Therefore, sleeping on your back when you are more than 3 months pregnant can cause the intestines and large blood vessels in the abdomen to be compressed by the weight of the uterus containing the fetus.
This condition can also have an impact on blood circulation to the heart, thereby reducing blood flow for pregnant women and fetuses. In addition, the pressure on the intestines and blood vessels due to sleeping on your back may also cause several complaints, such as:
- Shortness of breath or heavy breathing
- Back pain
- Dizzy
- Indigestion
- Hemorrhoids
- Blood pressure drop
Sleeping on your back during pregnancy is also said to increase the risk of premature birth. However, these findings still need to be studied further because there are many factors that can also cause premature birth, ranging from pregnancy complications to smoking or consuming alcoholic beverages during pregnancy.
The bad effects or dangers of pregnant women sleeping on their back will not immediately appear just because pregnant women accidentally sleep in this position for 1-2 hours.
However, you should avoid sleeping on your back, especially if the pregnant woman's stomach size is quite large, because this position can cause several complaints as mentioned above.
Recommended Sleeping Position
Pregnant women do not need to worry if they wake up from sleep in a supine position. Just change it to tilt to the left by bending your knees. This sleeping position is considered the most comfortable and best for pregnant women, because the burden of the fetus will not suppress the large blood vessels in the pregnant woman's stomach.
This makes the heart work lighter and blood flow to various important organs, such as the uterus, kidneys, and liver, becomes smoother. Sleeping on your left side also increases the amount of blood and nutrients that reach the placenta and fetus.
In addition to sleeping on your back, pregnant women also need to avoid sleeping on their stomach. This position is also at risk of compressing the blood vessels and fetus, as well as uncomfortable for the breasts and abdomen that are already enlarged.
Complaints of insomnia, both difficulty sleeping during early pregnancy and difficulty sleeping during late pregnancy, are normal things. Apart from being difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position, the growing stomach size also causes various other complaints, such as leg cramps, back pain, and frequent urination, which makes pregnant women even more uncomfortable while sleeping.
To work around this, pregnant women can use pillows to support their stomach, knees, and back. If sleeping on your left side starts to feel uncomfortable, try tilting your right side for a while. Pregnant women may also occasionally sleep on their back, but not for too long.
If pregnant women are used to sleeping on their backs and feel more comfortable in this position so that they have difficulty sleeping in other positions, try consulting with a gynecologist to determine the best solution.
