Not necessarily—you're likely in the clear until your baby gets a bit larger, and we'd recommend chatting with your doctor to pinpoint a time in your pregnancy when you should embrace side-sleeping. According to physician-reviewed information from KidsHealth , sleeping on your left side helps keep weight off your liver which is located on the right side of the body and improves blood flow and circulation to major organs.
However, researchers from the University of Huddersfield's study didn't find any reason to believe there's a difference in stillbirth risk if you sleep on your left side over your right. The bottom line here? If sleeping on your right side is significantly more comfortable for you, you should run this by your doctor—if they're on board, it could be a perfectly safe solution—but you may want to adjust to sleeping on your left side if possible.
But mamas, hear us out: If you do wake up and realize you've migrated in your sleep, you shouldn't beat yourself up it happens! Oh, and some anecdotal advice? Invest in a pregnancy pillow.
Keep your knees and your legs bent, and try placing a pillow between your legs. You can also put a pillow under your abdomen to support your bump. Sleeping on your side helps keep your baby safe. Research has shown that sleeping on your side, especially in the third trimester weeks 27 to 40 , helps to prevent stillbirth.
If you're having trouble getting to sleep, avoid drinks with caffeine in them, like tea and coffee. This educational content is not medical or diagnostic advice. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy. Registry Builder New. Sleeping Positions During Pregnancy. Medically Reviewed by Andrei Rebarber, M. Medical Review Policy All What to Expect content that addresses health or safety is medically reviewed by a team of vetted health professionals.
Stomach, back or side? Back to Top. In This Article. Why is sleep so important during pregnancy? Continue Reading Below. Recommended Reading. Snoring During Pregnancy. Turns out, there's a good medical reason for it, and it involves an unseen Tetris game happening inside every pregnant woman's belly. As a fetus grows larger and larger throughout gestation, it naturally begins to put more and more pressure on mama's internal organs and blood vessels.
It can be annoying or painful when the growing baby plops onto mama's bladder or kicks her in the intestines. But comfort isn't behind the prescription for left-side sleeping. According to Dr. Grace Pien, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the crucial piece of the puzzle is the mother's inferior vena cava IVC , a large vein that runs along the right side of the spine and is responsible for returning blood from the bottom half of the body to the heart.
Why is this compression bad? Less blood being pumped into the heart means less blood being pumped out of the heart — and that means a drop in blood pressure for mom, and a drop in blood oxygen content for both mom and baby.
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