How Should I Sleep When I’m Pregnant?

“Sleep only on your left side” is an idea I have heard often and repeatedly from patients who have inevitably received this guideline from various pregnancy resources.

Don’t stress about sleep positions during pregnancy!

Let me share where this came from and why you don’t need to worry about it IF your body is balanced and functioning well.

“Sleep only on your Left side” has been recommended for decades to promote “better” blood flow to your placenta and baby by decreasing the likelihood of compressing the Inferior Vena Cava (a really really big blood vessel in your abdomen that returns blood from your lower body back to your heart). Sounds important and it really is!

The truth about the best sleep position when pregnant:

1. If you have a normal amount of amniotic fluid you are not likely to compress your IVC. The weight of your uterus, amniotic fluid and baby generally makes it uncomfortable to be on your back anyways which is when compression could occur.
2. Although increased blood flow is generally stimulated by left side-lying, this is not the case if your placenta is attached on the left side. This would usually make Right sided sleep more comfortable and perfectly fine. And possibly even better for you and your baby.
3. Lying on one side only is not only incredibly uncomfortable but static positioning causes constant compression and therefore decreased blood flow over time! Your body needs movement. Switching sides as often as necessary for comfort is a healthy way to encourage balance in the body and overall increased blood flow over a length of time.
4. Our bodies, with all its innate wisdom, have incredibly strong warning symptoms if compression of the IVC is occurring. You will not only wake up, but you will feel awful, slight shortness of breath or nauseated and will naturally immediately get off your back to correct the issue. If you are finding yourself waking up on your back, feeling perfectly fine and comfortable, your baby’s and placental positioning are such that compression is not happening. Don’t stress, just turn back to whatever side feels comfortable!
5. The only times I would strongly recommend a certain sleeping position is when there is very low fluid, you are on medications or substances that may depress your body’s natural signals to rouse you from sleep, or you are in the last 6 weeks of your pregnancy and your baby’s position is less than ideal for delivery (more about that in another post).

So be as comfortable as you can and SLEEP knowing your body knows what it is doing!