spin off to sleeping post

- why can't you sleep on your back?

I actually wake up on my stomach sometimes - my knee is up... like I'm running, which keeps all the pressure off my stomach.

Does how you sleep hurt the baby?

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I believe I remember my Dr. telling me something about get ample amounts of oxygen and blood flow to the baby and that sleeping on your back can compromise that in some way.

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I've read that sleeping on your back causes pressure from the baby which could possibly lead to blood clots. So they advise no back sleeping when you get big.

I also read that sleeping on your tummy is fine as long as it doesn't hurt.

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Its not so much for the baby, its for your own risk:


"Sleeping flat on your back puts the full weight of your uterus on your back, intestines, and your inferior vena cava (the vein that transports blood from your lower body to your heart). Back-sleeping can also increase your risk for backaches and hemorrhoids, inefficient digestion, and impaired breathing and circulation. Lying on your back in the second and third trimester can also cause changes in blood pressure. For some women, it can cause a drop in blood pressure that can make them feel very dizzy; for others, it can cause an unwanted increase in blood pressure."

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I was told to sleep on you left side ..best for blood flow and oxygen for you and baby...I dont know how some people sleep on their back...I hate when i have to lie on my back at a Dr appt(during pregnancy)but thats the first hing I will do after I have the aby!

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My Dr said I could sleep on my back for as long as I was comfy. She said my Blood pressure was great so t here wasnt anything to worry about. I slept on my back until I couldnt breathe anymore - probably around 30 weeks!

ETA: DS is perfectly healthy (in fact I can hear him in the other room cooing as we speak), I never had backaches, or hemorrhoids during my pregnancy...

Message edited 2/21/2008 9:07:45 AM.

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wow - I had no idea

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before i naturally fall asleep on my left side, but alternate through the night from my back to my left side! i always freak out when i wake up on my back and quickly move to my left, but it's so comfy to me and i wind up back there somehow!!

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I'm a back sleeper who has been trying to sleep on my sides, but if I lay on my left or right side too long, I wake up with pain in my hip!

I just can't win! I might as well sleep standing up at this point.

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I keep waking up on my back, and I have reached the point where I can't simply adjust my position, so it's often my decision to just fall back to sleep like that. Moving hurts.

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I can't control the position that I sleep in. I am just lucky to get any freaking sleep.