Sleeping On Side During Pregnancy: Benefits And How To Be Comfortable Doing It

Pregnant women are exposed to a world of advice, sometimes welcome and sometimes unsolicited. And among the advice that filters through as sound medical directive rather than old wives’ tales, is one related to sleeping on side during pregnancy. Is pregnancy sleeping on right side prohibited?

Benefits of Sleeping on Side During Pregnancy

The largest study of maternal sleep position and risk of stillbirth was published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. It found that women who suffered a stillbirth after 28 weeks gestation were 2.3 times more likely to have slept on their backs than on their sides, the night before the stillbirth occurred.

Sleeping on your side during pregnancy, and in particular sleeping on your left, has been reported to help ease the pressure off your liver and kidneys.

Sleeping on the left side during pregnancy allows these organs to function better. This is by flushing out waste products and fluids from your body and reducing oedema (swelling) of your ankles, feet, and hands in the process. 

While a 2019 study found that pregnancy sleeping on right side or left side is fine, there are reasons that you might choose to sleep on your left. Sleeping on left side during pregnancy is still often regarded as the perfect scenario. 

This is because it also allows for optimal blood flow from the inferior vena cava (IVC). The IVC is a large vein that runs parallel to your spine on the right side, and which is responsible for carrying blood to your heart and also to your baby.

Image Source: iStock

So we have read the research and we now know that sleeping on the side during pregnancy is the safest form of sleep. This is true whether you choose to sleep on the right side during pregnancy or on the left side.  

But what if you have always been a supine sleeper or a tummy-sleeper? What if you dislike sleeping on the right side during pregnancy?  Or find it difficult to get comfortable and drift off to sleep in such a position? 

Here are our top tips to help you fall asleep on your side and stay that way for the majority of your sleep episode. Regardless of whether it is your daily seven hours of sleep at night, a daytime nap, or even going back to sleep after any night-time awakenings.  

Sleeping on Side During Pregnancy: Pregnancy Pillows

Pillows could be your new best friend and perhaps even replace your partner. This is because it is more accessible. You can reach for it to get more comfortable and cuddle up to sleep during pregnancy!

This may also be the answer if you find sleeping on your left side during pregnancy uncomfortable.  

Always have a few extra pillows in the bed with you. This can be just about any extra pillow that you have lying around, a bolster pillow, or you may want to invest in a pregnancy pillow that works all throughout pregnancy and can sometimes aid you through breastfeeding as well.

Pillows are great aids to side-sleeping during pregnancy. Photo: iStock

Pregnancy pillows come in all shapes and sizes. There are extra-long pillows that contour to the shape of your body and come in giant U or C shapes. 

These wrap around your entire body to help with side sleeping. You can position the pillow so that it runs along your back, and then hug the front while simultaneously slipping it between your knees. 

There are also wedge pillows that you can slip under your tummy for a bit of extra support and to keep yourself from rolling onto your back, or under your knees to help ease the pressure off your legs. 

There are even ones with a divided centre and fortress-walls to make sure you remain in a side position throughout your snoozing. 

We have curated the best pregnancy pillows on the market, so you only need to choose the right one for you.

Either avail the use of these pillows or even use any extra ones that you may already have in your home. Place them around your belly and in between your legs so that your abdomen stays raised. This way, your back and hips are also adequately supported. 

This is particularly helpful if you have hip pain when sleeping on the side during pregnancy.

Use pillows to make side sleeping more comfortable

Wedging a pillow in between your legs helps to foster a more comfortable side-sleeping position by keeping your legs level. Pregnant mums usually report issues with discomfort and even hip pain when sleeping on side during pregnancy. 

In these cases, their top leg is almost always dipping down onto their bottom leg. Keeping them level using a pillow gets rid of this issue and facilitates a smoother side-sleeping experience. 

You may also use an extra pillow to prop up the head of the bed a few inches, which can also help to ease breathing and help prevent any backflow of stomach acid from reflux, reducing heartburn.

However, others simply cannot get used to sleeping on side, or find sleeping on left side during pregnancy uncomfortable. If this is the case, try using pillows to prop your upper body at a 45-degree angle so you do not lie completely flat. 

You can then sleep with bent knees to take the pressure off your back. This will also take the compression off your IVC.

Healthy Habits That Foster Quality Night-Time Sleep

• Exercise every day 

Staying active can help in fostering better sleep quality. Try to take a 30-minute walk or a pregnancy exercise class at your own pace. There are short pregnancy workout videos on YouTube for free as well.

However, make sure you exercise earlier in the day. Avoid any activity that brings your heart rate up within 4 hours of bedtime. This is because they can be stimulating enough to keep you up. Also, make sure you get your doctor’s go signal.

• Try to stick to a relaxing nighttime routine. 

A warm bath and/or a massage, some relaxing tunes, deep-breathing exercises, and even a pregnancy yoga video are all good ways to relax before bed.

• Stretching 

Perform leg stretches and concentrate on your calves and other areas that you usually cramp up in. Doing this can prevent nighttime cramps from springing sudden surprises on you.

• Hydrate during the earlier part of the day

Despite pregnant mums needing extra fluids, try to limit drinks later on in the day. Stop drinking within 2 to 3 hours of bedtime. This way, you won’t have to get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. 

Avoid caffeine as much as possible during pregnancy. In particular, avoid drinking closer to bedtime as it can keep you up. It also acts as a diuretic that makes you have to use the bathroom more.

• Pee before bedtime

Make one last trip to the bathroom before you turn out the light to sleep. Try to maintain a cooler temperature in your room, as you are bound to feel warmer while being pregnant.

• Take daytime naps

Be sure to apply the same rules on sleeping on the side during pregnancy while you take a daytime nap as well. 

Most importantly, relax. Try to apply the tips above to ensure you remain on your side. If you’re especially concerned about your sleeping position, ask your partner to check on you from time to time. You may need help to nudge you into a better position.

As long as you go to sleep on your side, it does not matter as much if you wake up in the middle of the night and find that you are in a supine position. As research indicates, the position you went to sleep is what you hold the longest during sleep. Simply roll back on your side and carry on sweet-snoozing mama!

Updates by Romy Pena Cruz

Here at theAsianparent Singapore, it’s important for us to give information that is correct, significant, and timely. But this doesn’t serve as an alternative for medical advice or medical treatment. theAsianparent Singapore is not responsible for those that would choose to drink medicines based on information from our website. If you have any doubts, we recommend consulting your doctor for clearer information.