Pregnancy Sleep Tip – your mattress matters!

We often treat expecting mums reporting hip pain during / after sleep. This is mostly due to the compression of the thigh bone (head of femur) into the mattress as you spend night after night predominantly lying on your left side. First of all – let us say this – while this is normal, it certainly is annoying and can interfere with the quality of your sleep. So rather than just brush it off, we have a little bit of  wisdom and some science to offer:

• Should I sleep on my left side? Yes, the American Pregnancy Association says that “sleeping on your left side will increase the amount of blood and nutrients that reach the placenta and your baby. Keep your legs and knees bent, and put a pillow between your legs.”(1)      However:
• I wake up on my right, is that bad? Please don’t worry – the knowledgeable people at The Baby Centre reassuringly confirm  that “there’s actually no evidence that the left is better than the right. So feel free to shift from side to side. If you wake up and find yourself on your back, don’t be alarmed. Just turn onto your side and go back to sleep.”(2)        That’s all well and good, but:
• I just cannot find a comfortable position? Yes that is indeed tricky, but the clever use of pillows can help, as suggested by Tommy’s. Use a pillow between your knees or under your topmost bent leg, AS WELL AS one behind your back. This will serve the dual purpose of keeping your hips level (and potentially help prevent pubic symphysis issues) and preventing you from rolling onto your back. You will take over most of the bed, so hubbies beware 😉 (3)
• I just need my sleep, tell me what to do and I’ll do it! OK so here goes: if you are ready to invest in a mattress, then this is the Best Mattress for Pregnant Women compiled by the sleep specialists at tuck.com.  A new mattress is not just a solution for pregnancy – a well-chosen mattress will serve you for the next 7-10 year, well beyond the 3rd trimester and is really worth considering early on! (4)

You do not have to suffer unnecessarily throughout your pregnancy and we are here to help. While we cannot fully resolve all sleep problems, we certainly can give your body much-needed relief! Call for advice and come to see us for a specialist pregnancy massage with a soul!

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(1) http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/sleeping-positions-during-pregnancy/

(2) https://www.babycenter.com/404_whats-the-best-sleeping-position-during-pregnancy_7608.bc

(3) https://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/im-pregnant/pregnancy-calendar/third-trimester-weeks-29-40/sleep-position-pregnancy-qa

(4) https://www.tuck.com/best-mattresses-pregnancy/

9th August 2018