Pregnancy - Second Trimester

tb42 · Mar 5th, 2008, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vickie

I have heard that around 16 weeks you are no longer supposed to lay on your back for more than 20 minutes at a time because it limits the blood supply to the baby.

oh! really ? i still lie on my back at night because i still feel ok, but i better stop now.

tinytoes · Mar 5th, 2008, 08:29 AM

whats bad about laying on our right side? I know we hsould lie on the left but i'm not sure why....
I tend to move positin a fair bit and would like to be able to swap sides!

I've developed a very sore achey stiff left shoulder - wonder if it's from all this laying on my left side?!?

coccyx · Mar 5th, 2008, 08:31 AM

I am on my fourth baby and have never heard/been told not to sleep on my back.!! Couldn't anyway as too uncomfortable. Maybe the body has a way of working it out.

Jules · Mar 5th, 2008, 10:55 AM

Pre-pregnancy i have always slept on my back, i don't really like sleeping on my sides but have been doing, i seem to always wake up on my back though. I told my OH to roll me over if he sees me like this through the night lol

tinytoes · Mar 5th, 2008, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jules

Pre-pregnancy i have always slept on my back, i don't really like sleeping on my sides but have been doing, i seem to always wake up on my back though. I told my OH to roll me over if he sees me like this through the night lol

hahahh i have the same problem. maybe I'll get my OH a crow bar for when i get bigger! hehehhe

anita665 · Mar 5th, 2008, 12:29 PM

There's no harm in it while you're still small but when baby gets bigger it's not god to stay on your back for too long. I think you know your own body. For me I've only just got to the stage where I start to feel a little light headed if I lay on my back for too long but for a few mins is still fine. Also you can still lay on your back if you have a couple of pillows under your head to prop you up.

Snowball · Mar 5th, 2008, 13:03 PM

It's weird, I woke up last night and felt really uncomfortable and then realised I was lying on my back. I try to go to sleep with a maternity pillow between my legs to prevent me rolling over but I always seem to wake up in a different position

As others have said though, if your body is uncomfortable it will tell you, it usually takes something quite big to wake me at night

Vickie · Mar 5th, 2008, 14:44 PM

That's just what I read, I'm not a back sleeper (normally) anyways although I do occassionaly wake up and find myself lying on my back.

Nat · Mar 5th, 2008, 18:39 PM

Recently I've found myself waking up on my back. It doesn't seem to matter what position I'm in when I fall asleep. It does worry me a little as I have no control over it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinytoes

whats bad about laying on our right side? I know we hsould lie on the left but i'm not sure why....
I tend to move positin a fair bit and would like to be able to swap sides!

I've developed a very sore achey stiff left shoulder - wonder if it's from all this laying on my left side?!?

I found this answer on another website.

Quote:

Q Why is it better to sleep on your left side when pregnant?

A The answer to this question lies in the anatomy of the abdomen, which has to harbor the ever-increasing uterus as the baby grows.

The Vena Cava is the main vein that drains the entire lower half of the body. Anatomically, it lies just to the right of the midline--just on the right side of your spine. As the baby gets bigger, certainly the heavier uterus, lying flat on the Vena Cava will (like stepping on a garden hose) obstruct flow up towards the heart. The drainage of the lower half of the body becomes sluggish, which not only increases the swelling of your ankles, feet, and legs, but will also impact on hemorrhoids as well. And decreased return of blood flow to the heart will cause hypotension (lowered blood pressure) down the line and resulting diminished arterial blood flow to the uterus, placenta, and baby.
Sometimes this hypotension is evident when a woman has an ultrasound, during which she lies flat. One of the symptoms of hypotension is nausea that will accompany the light-headedness. In answer to your question, lying on the back is the worst ossible position in the third trimester. Lying on the right side is better than lying on your back, but lying on your left side is the best of all, because this is the position which will have the least amount of weight upon the Vena Cava.

http://gynob.com/leftside.htm

I'll have to be careful of this as I already have lower blood pressure than I'd like.

em82 · Mar 5th, 2008, 20:59 PM

thanks for all your replies xx

Pregnancy - Second Trimester

Safe to lay flat????

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