During pregnancy, disturbed sleep is very common. Worrying about which position to lie in, needing to get up frequently to go to the toilet and trying to ease aches and pains. Here is my advice on safe positions to sleep in and some pillow tips to keep you comfortable throughout the night.

Safe Sleep Positions in Early Pregnancy

During the first trimester, it is safe for you to sleep in whichever position you feel comfortable in, whether this is on your back, side, or stomach. As you move past 20 weeks gestation, research suggests you should avoid lying on your back as the weight of the growing uterus can put pressure on one of your major blood vessels, the inferior vena cava.  This compression can reduce blood flow to the uterus and the placenta.

Why Sleep Position Matters in Pregnancy

Research has shown this could be associated with reduced fetal growth, reduced fetal movement, reduced fetal heart rate, low birth weight, and a few studies showed a slight increase in the risk of stillbirth. The most important factor in these studies appears to be the position you go to sleep in and not, necessarily, the position you wake up in.  It has been suggested that the position we go to sleep in tends to be the position we stay in for the longest time. So, try to go to sleep on your left side and if you wake up on your back, then just roll on to your side and go back to sleep. Also, many women who experience blood vessel compression when lying on their backs tend to feel unwell, with nausea, sweating, light-headedness, due to the low blood pressure and will move to a different position to ease these symptoms. 

Trust your instincts

Sleeping on your left side also takes the pressure off your liver and your kidneys. This allows them more room to function properly, helping to reduce swelling in your hands, ankles, and feet. If you can get only get comfortable on your right side, then this is safe also. 

Tips for Comfortable and Safe Sleep During Pregnancy

To support your back and hips I recommend using a pillow between your knees and behind your back. This will keep your hips in good alignment and stop you from rolling onto your back. If you simply can’t get used to sleeping on your side or you are suffering with hip pain, you can roll back against the back support pillow, so you are sleeping at a 45-degree angle rather than directly on your side. 

It is also important to think about the support for your head and neck. Whilst lying on your side you need a supportive pillow which fills the gap between the tip of your shoulder and your neck.  Your spine should be in a straight line so ask your partner to check the pillow is not too high or too low.

Reducing caffeine, daily exercise and relaxation techniques can all be used to help you have a better nights sleep as well!

Laura Barrett

TMP Collaborator

Laura began her career in women’s health physiotherapy in 2004 after graduating with a first-class honours degree in physiotherapy from King’s College, London. Having initially gained valuable experience working in a large teaching hospital in London, Laura entered the private health sector in the UK in 2008 before moving to Dubai in 2010. 
From 2010 to 2017, Laura held multiple roles at polyclinics in Dubai, including Head of Women’s Health Physiotherapy & Clinical Pilates. Laura then returned to the UK, where she founded a successful Women’s Health Physiotherapy and Pilates business in Surrey and Oxfordshire before deciding to return to Dubai in 2021 with her husband and two young sons.
Having always practised within women’s health physiotherapy, Laura gained additional certification as a Mummy MOT® Practitioner and continues to ensure that pre-natal women are fit and healthy when entering this exciting phase of their lives and that post-natal women are supported in their recovery from pregnancy, through childbirth and into ‘mummy hood’, returning to work and exercise and having the confidence and ability to pursue previous or new hobbies.
Laura has also trained as a Restore Scar Therapy Practitioner offering scar therapy to all in Dubai including women following a c-section birth, mastectomies or gyneacological surgery.