The MSE Pregnancy Club

Dormouse

rachelja wrote:

I often end up sleeping on my tummy, is that really bad? (stupid qu). I just roll over when I'm asleep and can't help it!

I don't think it matters that much early on, obviously when you get a bump it's not going to work!

(I can't sleep on my tummy as my boobs are really sore - I've gone up two sizes :eek:)

I've got What To Expect When You're Expecting, and it says you shouldn't sleep on your back either. I often roll over on my back, it's not like you can stop yourself.

purplepatch

There's also some artery or something (sorry for the accurate description :rolleyes:) that runs down one side of your body - can't remember which side (good aren't I - can you tell I'm a mush brain new mum?!) that can get squashed when you lie on your side. I remember that I couldn't lie on my front because of the bump, couldn't lie on my back or on one side because of the squashed thing that made me faint and sick, so it was the other side (left I think) or nothing. And as for the night leg and foot cramps, don't even get me started!! I used to wake DH with my yelping - he was never sure whether it was cramp or whether labour had started :rotfl:

Misery - but it's all worth it in the end, trust me :D

SusanCarter

rachelja wrote:

I often end up sleeping on my tummy, is that really bad? (stupid qu). I just roll over when I'm asleep and can't help it!

I've not come across anything advising against sleeping on your front - it's just that there comes a point when you can't as it's too uncomfortable.

They do say you shouldn't sleep on your back after a certain stage. There's two reasons for this. One is that apparently if you lie on your back later on, the baby can squash some blood vessel which can make you feel faint as you get less oxygen circulating in your blood. The other is that if you lie on your back a lot, you are more likely to end up with the baby lying back-to-back rather than back-to-front.

Personally, when I have a cold the only way I can sleep is by lying on my back otherwise I can't breath and I figure as long as a sleeping position is comfortable, it probably doesn't matter too much which way you sleep.

purplepatch

purplepatch wrote:

There's also some artery or something (sorry for the accurate description :rolleyes:) that runs down one side of your body - can't remember which side (good aren't I - can you tell I'm a mush brain new mum?!) that can get squashed when you lie on your side. I remember that I couldn't lie on my front because of the bump, couldn't lie on my back or on one side because of the squashed thing that made me faint and sick, so it was the other side (left I think) or nothing. And as for the night leg and foot cramps, don't even get me started!! I used to wake DH with my yelping - he was never sure whether it was cramp or whether labour had started :rotfl:

Misery - but it's all worth it in the end, trust me :D

Some further reading has clarified that the artery in question runs down right side of the body and if it gets squashed oxygen can't get through - hence best to lie on left side.

Whenever I went for scans/midwife checks I could only lie on my back for a couple of minutes before I felt like I was going to throw up :rolleyes:

Agutka

"but it's all worth it in the end, trust me :D"

Thanks purplepatch!

I was Ebaying for one of those funny pillows and there's one out there that helps/makes you sleep on your left side and I was confused why this was, thanks for explaining.

Just fyi though, I HATE sleeping on my left side. It makes the sensation of my heart beating more pronounced and I've spent the last three years learning how to avoid feeling my heart pounding. So great. How long does this phase last for?

Davina_M

Hi all.
Hope you are all ok. Hugs to all still going thru the ups and downs of pregnancy. Im no longer in the club I had a baby boy on Monday 19th. he weighted 6lb 13oz and we have called him Gideon :j .
He was born my c section and all went well but i did get a chest infection so i am on antibiotics but other than that me and baby are fine.
I just want to say to all those who are fretting and worrying about their pregnancy to take in easy and be positive cos things usually work out and even when things seem to be going wrong miracles can happen.
When I first feel pregnant with my dd I was told that i had a higher risk of miscarriage because of health problems. i left there feeling really low but after a while i just shook off what they had said and just began to get on with it believing that it was going to be ok and even though i was in hospital 3 times, was coughing up blood, had 3 blood tranfusions my baby still turned out fine.
With this pregnancy when I had my first scan they discovered he had a really enlarged bladder and wasn't able to wee, so big that they didn't even think he would survive and they said that even if he did he could have kidney and bladder problems. They gave us time to decide what we wanted to do either continue and hope for the best or a termination. We chose to hope for the best and just started praying. We went back on two more occasions and there was no improvement but we still couldn't bring ourselves to give up and we've always been against terminations. Anyway we were told we could have one last scan before the last date for termination. At this point we finally agreed that if there was no improvement we would have to let him go because he was suffering. When we had the scan there was an improvement and there was fluid around the baby which meant that he had weed but it didn't mean eveything was fine yet. We kept having regular scans throughout the pregnancy and things continued to improve and by the last two scans everything was showing as normal. We have also had tests since he was born and everything has come back fine. :j :j
I just wanted to share my story to give hope and encouragement to you all. Be positive, persevere and have faith.

daisykate124

CONGRATULATIONS on your arrival Davina M

Glad everything is ok with your little one.

india

Davina_M wrote:

I had a baby boy on Monday 19th. he weighted 6lb 13oz and we have called him Gideon

Congratulations!

Becles

Davina_M wrote:

I had a baby boy on Monday 19th. he weighted 6lb 13oz and we have called him Gideon :j .

Awww - lovely news. Congrats :T

purplepatch

Agutka wrote:

Just fyi though, I HATE sleeping on my left side. It makes the sensation of my heart beating more pronounced and I've spent the last three years learning how to avoid feeling my heart pounding. So great. How long does this phase last for?

Errrrr, just for most of the second half I found :rotfl:

:eek:

My ickle bundle is asleep on my lap as I type though and it was soooo worthwhile :heartpuls