Sleep is the time when your body repairs and resets itself. It is when the brain of the mother makes memories by making it an ally against the baby’s brain. It is how the blood vessels of pregnant women restore themselves, which tends to become important as they are now under increased pressure of blood to support the baby. The amount of and the way of sleep you get while you are pregnant not only affects you but also affects your baby health, but could impact the labor and baby’s delivery, as well. Hence, lack of sleep during pregnancy has been tied to several complications, including preeclampsia that is a severe condition that affects your blood pressure and kidneys and could result in preterm birth.
One of the first symptoms of being pregnant is feeling overwhelmingly tired and exhausted and sleep will be irresistible to you. You can blame your changing hormones for this, particularly the additional progesterone that comes with being pregnant. In the beginning, pregnancy also lowers your blood pressure and blood sugar, which can make you feel tired.
However, getting a good night’s sleep for pregnant moms can also seem almost impossible. As your pregnancy progresses, the belly will get bigger, the baby’s kicks will get stronger, and you’ll feel like urinating every 20 minutes. Shortly once your first trimester has passed, your energy should return. Then sometimes, during the third trimester, you will begin to feel tired again. Some of this feeling can be blamed on the sheer physical exhaustion that comes from growing a baby and also the stress that it puts on your body.
Best Sleeping Position
The best way to sleep during the second half of pregnancy is SOS (Sleep On Side) or even better is to sleep on your left side. Doctors recommend the left side over the right because the vena cava is located to the right of your spine, so sleeping on your left side allows blood to flow more freely to your baby.
Tips for SOS direction:
Keep your legs and knees bent, and put a pillow between your legs and another below your hips can help you balance on your side quickly. Also, test out sleeping with a full-body pillow placed behind your back or in front of you, or experiment with a wedge-shaped pillow, propping it under your side or chest.
Sleeping Position During Pregnancy Should Avoid
Experts recommend that pregnant mothers should avoid sleeping on their backs, specifically during the third trimester because the back sleep position rests the entire weight of the growing baby, maybe it’s back, and mainly mother’s intestines and vena cava that carries blood back to the heart from your lower body. This pressure can aggravate backaches and hemorrhoids and make digestion less efficient.
Tips To Get More Comfortable Night’s Sleep
- Drink plenty of fluids during day but cut down before bedtime to minimize frequent nighttime urination.
- Keep moving, do some exercise, or even walk because it can improve circulation and help reduce nighttime leg cramps.
- Go to bed with a clear head because stress and anxiety prevent a good night’s sleep.
- To prevent heartburn, don’t recline for an hour or two after a meal. If heartburn is a problem, get laid with your head elevated on pillows.
- Nap during a day because it helps you to reduce fatigue.
