Can I Sleep on My Stomach While Pregnant

Our medical review team has recently evaluated this folio to ensure accuracy. We will continue to monitor and revise this commodity equally new literature is published on pregnancy and slumber.

The second trimester is an heady time in pregnancy, with morning sickness abating and the baby bump starting to evidence. For about women, the second trimester is also a relief in terms of sleep quality. Even so, there are a number of factors to take into consideration if yous desire to sleep well during your second trimester.

We'll go over whether it's ok to slumber on your back and breadbasket while pregnant in your 2nd trimester. We'll also accept a look at some of the mutual slumber atmospheric condition that can ascend during the second trimester, including slumber apnea and heartburn, and provide advice on how to amend the quality of your sleep.

How Does Sleep Change in the Second Trimester?

Most women detect information technology much easier to slumber in the second trimester compared with the start and third trimesters. Stabilizing hormone levels give you a welcome break from morning sickness and tender breasts, and the baby isn't big enough yet to interfere drastically with sleep. Moreover, the uterus has moved further abroad from your float, reducing the frequency of trips to the bathroom.

On average, women tend to get around 7.five hours of sleep per night in their 2nd trimester. Our advice is to apply this trimester wisely, preparing for the baby's arrival just besides prioritizing storing up energy reserves for the more taxing third trimester.

The second trimester brings a few sleep bug of its own. You may start to experience leg cramps and bloated feet, while weight gain and loosening ligaments in the pelvic expanse can cause lower dorsum pain. Many pregnant women as well have strange, vivid dreams and notice that they tend to wake and fall asleep earlier, as in the beginning trimester. Headaches are too common, but near are benign similar migraines and tension headaches. However, be sure to mention them to your care provider as they can sometimes indicate something more serious.

As the baby crash-land grows and the nasal passages beginning to get congested, the second trimester can sometimes bring increased snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Constipation and heartburn also plague some women, although the latter is usually worse in the third trimester.

At around the twenty-week point, mothers will start to feel their infant motion. For many women, this is the moment it dawns on yous that you're about to go a new mom, a realization that brings excitement only also anxiety.

Why Sleep Is Important During Your 2d Trimester

The 2d trimester is your best chance at getting quality slumber before the infant comes, then it's important to brand this a priority. Inadequate sleep in the second trimester has been linked to gestational diabetes, stress, depression, and reduced quality of life. Sleep apnea, in item, tin can be a risk gene for preterm commitment, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes mellitus.

How to Sleep Better During Your Second Trimester

Managing pregnancy-related sleep conditions and practicing healthy sleep hygiene can aid you crush indisposition in the second trimester. This includes adopting the best sleeping positions for you and the infant.

What Is the Best Second Trimester Sleeping Position?

Left side sleeping is considered the best sleeping position for later pregnancy as it allows for unrestricted claret flow to the fetus and kidneys. While this may not be necessary yet at the start of the 2nd trimester, this is a good time to practise switching over to your left side. If you're having problem finding a comfortable position, a recliner may be a good option.

Stomach sleeping may be fine for the first part of the 2d trimester, until the growing baby bump makes this position uncomfortable. Starting around calendar week 16, you should endeavor to avoid sleeping on your back. This position puts the weight of the uterus on acme of the inferior vena cava, which tin cut off blood flow, cause swelling in your legs and ankles.

If you're not a natural side sleeper, y'all tin can attempt using strategically placed pillows to forestall yourself from rolling over onto your back. A pregnancy trunk pillow or wedge pillow may aid you to adopt a more comfortable position. Likewise, smaller pillows tucked under the waist and belly may relieve pressure level, and a pillow between the knees can help meliorate the alignment of the hips and spine.

Sleeping Products to Assist With Second Trimester Sleep

It'southward all-time not to take medications such as sleeping pills during your pregnancy unless prescribed by your medico, but you may consider other sleep aids. Mineral supplements and low-cal stretching earlier bed may help reduce leg cramps. Some significant women use herbal remedies, although you should always consult with your dr. first. The scent of lavender is a relatively innocuous option that may assistance some people sleep. Additional options include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-I), guided relaxation exercises, yoga, and acupuncture.

If your bedroom is noisy or likewise vivid, you lot may wish to try a white dissonance machine or an eye mask. At present that your trunk is growing, it's also important to find a properly supportive mattress and pillow.

Sleep Hygiene Tips for the 2nd Trimester

Regular sleep hygiene advice is just as valid as e'er during the second trimester of pregnancy. Create a slumber-friendly bedchamber by turning downwards the thermostat, quieting the noise, and blocking any potential light sources. Save your bed for slumber and sex only, and try to keep a regular schedule of waking up and going to slumber at more than or less the same time every day.

In training for bedtime, put away the smartphone and laptop. The blue light from these devices delays sleep by fooling your brain into thinking it's daytime. Instead of watching TV, try reading a book, listening to music, or practicing meditation and relaxation techniques. A prenatal massage or a warm bath are other ways to relax your body and listen in grooming for slumber.

You probably won't need to visit the bathroom every bit frequently as you did in the offset trimester, but it's nonetheless helpful to drink your liquids earlier in the day and avoid caffeine. Likewise, to ward off heartburn, stick to smaller meals, and don't lie down correct afterward eating. Spicy and greasy foods can also trigger acrid reflux. If you suffer from heartburn despite all these preventative measures, endeavour sleeping on your left side with your caput slightly raised, to keep the esophagus higher than the breadbasket.

Take reward of your rising energy levels to become some morning or afternoon do, which is beneficial for fatigue and depression. As your baby bump grows bigger, exercises to strengthen your core may too help reduce dorsum and leg pain, and pave the way for smoother labor.

You probably won't feel as tired during the 24-hour interval as you did during the first trimester. However, if you experience the demand to nap, try to keep information technology short and early in the day so information technology doesn't interfere with your nightly sleep.

Mental Health Tips

Pregnancy hormones can cause mood swings and anxiety, which tin can have their price on your energy levels. Achieve out to your back up network to assist you navigate tough changes or issues that might be stressing you lot out. If yous're kept awake at night worrying about everything y'all need to go washed, attempt jotting down a to-do listing to go on from ruminating.

To lower stress levels, try guided imagery, deep animate, or mindfulness techniques. A prenatal yoga grouping may exist a productive fashion of sharing your experience with other women while getting some exercise. Research shows that your coping fashion tin have a straight touch on on your stress levels, which affects your sleep quality. And then, take this opportunity to pamper yourself.

If yous are struggling with low, anxiety, or another mental health effect that seems overwhelming, ever reach out to your doctor for help.

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About Our Editorial Squad

Danielle Pacheco

Staff Writer

Danielle writes in-depth articles about sleep solutions and holds a psychology degree from the Academy of British Columbia.

Ealena Callendar

OBGYN

MD

Dr. Callender is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist who has been working in women's health for over a decade.

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Source: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/pregnancy/sleeping-during-2nd-trimester

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