How Correct Is It To Sleep On Your Back During Pregnancy?

Does Lying On Your Back and Face During Pregnancy Harm the Baby?

Stating that the lying position during pregnancy is very important not only for the comfort of the expectant mother, but also from a medical point of view, experts say that pregnant women are approximately 25-30 years old. They say they can sleep in any position they want for weeks. Can you sleep face down during pregnancy? Obstetricians and Gynecologists state that the biggest reservation of expectant mothers is the thought that the baby will be squeezed and harmed when they lie in the prone position they are used to, and they state that lying face down will not harm the baby thanks to the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. For this reason, they express that expectant mothers who lie face down in the first months of their pregnancy should not be afraid, but they state that this situation will change after six months due to their growing abdomen, and they cannot be comfortable lying down in the prone position even if they wanted to. So is it safe to sleep on your back during pregnancy? Does sleeping on the back during pregnancy harm the baby?

Don't Sleep on Your Back During Pregnancy

Emphasizing that lying on the back during pregnancy is inconvenient for the baby, specialist doctors say that as the pregnancy progresses, the growing uterus puts pressure on the spine of the expectant mother. They state that the blood returning to the heart decreases as a result of the pressure on the vessels leading to the heart, especially in the last months, and the weight of up to about 6 kg.

Sleeping on Your Back During Pregnancy Can Also Harm the Baby

While lying on the back during pregnancy causes a decrease in blood pressure in the expectant mother, it is said that there will be a decrease in the blood going to the baby as the blood going to the uterus will decrease when the pregnant woman lies in this position. Therefore, it is recommended that pregnant women avoid the full supine position.

Sleeping on Your Back Increases Miscarriage Risk

According to studies, pregnant women lying on their back in the following weeks increases the risk of miscarriage. It is stated that the baby's oxygen consumption decreases as a result of the pressure applied to the baby when the expectant mother lies on her back, which explains the cause of infant deaths in the last months of pregnancy. Peter Stone, a professor at the University of Auckland, who led the research, said that although similar studies have shown that sleeping positions affect the health of the baby during pregnancy, it is not known how and why this affects the health of the baby, he states that sleeping on the back during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, especially in mothers with other health problems.

Most Recommended Sleeping Position

Experts, who state that the most recommended position regarding sleeping patterns during pregnancy is left side lying, say that it is not necessary to lie on the right or left side, while turning your stomach a little bit to one side will reduce the pressure in question. They state that it is normal to turn in different directions.

Underlining that the most recommended way to lie down is left-handed, experts say that in this lying position, both the blood flow to the baby will increase and the urine of the expectant mother will be filtered more easily from her kidneys. It is stated that it will reduce edema, hand, foot and wrist swelling. Specialist physicians, who draw attention to the fact that this situation is not understood as lying on the left side all the time, say that this way, the comfort of expectant mothers may deteriorate. They suggest that the best way to lie down during pregnancy is to just lower your belly to the side, and to put a pillow on the side of your back so that you don't roll on your back unintentionally.

Your position during pregnancy;

• Turning to the side with one or both knees bent,
• Putting a pillow between the legs and under the abdomen,
• Using pregnancy-specific pillows.