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When you're pregnant, you'll find that many things in your body are changing. You may not even recognize your own body! It will soon begin to interfere with normal parts of your daily life. Perhaps the most troublesome interference you will experience will be the difficulty it causes with your sleeping patterns. This article will give you a few tips for how to adjust your sleeping position and habits so that it's a little bit easier. Side Sleeping If you don't already sleep on your side, you will need to start getting used to the idea. As your belly grows, you obviously won't be able to sleep on your stomach, and it's not recommended that you sleep on your back either. Sleeping on your back can cause the weight of your uterus to press on a major vein in your body, restricting the returning blood flow to your heart. This can have serious negative effects on you and your baby. This leaves only the option of sleeping on your side--more particularly, on your left side. Sleeping on your left side helps improve the flow of nutrients to the fetus through the placenta. So start trying to adjust your sleeping position as soon as possible; this will help you get used to the new position before it becomes absolutely necessary. Pillows The bigger your belly gets, the more it will pull on the other muscles of your belly. You may feel pulling sensations on your back and stomach when lying on your side. Your hips will also be expanding, and you can place strain on those joints when sleeping on your side. To minimize these discomforts, you're going to want to build a little nest of pillows around you. A pillow between your knees will prevent strain on your hips while sleeping on your side. You should also wedge a pillow under your belly to keep gravity from pulling it downwards as you sleep. If you experience back pain (which is very common in pregnant women), wedging a pillow against your back can help provide extra support and prevent those aches and pains. Obviously, this is a lot of pillows, so many women will purchase a contoured pregnancy pillow to fulfill all these duties at once. Space With your new sleeping position and your new need for all those pillows, you may find that you don't have enough space in your bed for you and your partner. He may end up sleeping on the very edge of your mattress, just to make room for your new pregnancy pillow and growing belly. If this is the case, it may be worth upgrading to a king size mattress. Not only will this make your partner's life a little bit easier, but it will help you to sleep better as well. You will be less likely to bump or nudge your partner, and vice versa, which means there are fewer things that are likely to wake you up in the middle of the night. Heartburn Many pregnant women experience heartburn at some point in their pregnancy. What does this have to do with sleeping? Well, heartburn can flare up when you're lying down, as it's easier for the acids to work their way up to your esophagus when you're in a horizontal position. If you experience this, try elevating your head a bit more to keep the acids from bubbling up and disturbing your sleep. You should also try not to eat immediately before bedtime, and avoid foods in the evenings that cause flare-ups. Getting a king size mattress and following these tips will make it a bit easier for you to sleep as your unborn baby continues to grow. But once the baby is born, you're on your own!
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