A good night’s sleep can be elusive even when you’re generally healthy and don’t have any stressful events happening in your life, so sleeping well during pregnancy can feel like a totally unfair challenge to overcome. There’s the physical complaints—like heartburn, leg cramps, nausea, and frequent urination —as well as the emotional ones, like worrying about how painful labor will be and agonizing over your family’s opinion of your baby-to-be’s first name ......Read The Full Article>>.....Read The Full Article>>
All of these distractions combined can make it harder than normal to get a restful night’s sleep, a fact that’s pretty ironic considering just howexhaustedyou often are during pregnancy—and how much sleep is important to a healthy pregnancy. Getting chronically less sleep than you need can actually increase your risk of C-section and longer labor, according to a 2015 study.
To help you catch more zzz’s during these nine months, we talked to experts about ways to improve your sleep, including which positions to try, pillows to choose, and when you should talk to your health care provider about your sleepless nights.
Physical aches and pains can prevent you from sleeping well during pregnancy, as can emotional stress and feelings of anxiety. The quality of your sleep can also change from trimester to trimester, notes Jill Purdie, MD , OB-GYN, and medical director at Pediatrix Medical Group in Atlanta.
Dr. Purdie says many pregnant people are excessively tired in the first trimester, feel better and more energized in the second trimester, and then experience a variety of physical discomforts in the third trimester, partially due to the growing fetus and increased weight (which can make it hard to find a comfortable position!).
According to Monte Swarup, MD , an OB-GYN practicing in Chandler, Arizona, and founder of HPV Hub, other common physical complaints that interrupt sleep during pregnancy include:
Even if you can manage to get physically comfortable, there’s a good chance you’re feeling somewhat anxious about your impending birth and major life changes. It’s hard to sleep when your mind is racing with concerns about preparing for your baby, getting through labor, and juggling the demands of work and parenthood if you have a job.
While some amount of stress and worry is perfectly normal during pregnancy, as many as 16% of pregnant people experience clinical depression, which can also interfere with sleep.If you’re having any symptoms of perinatal depression or anxiety, like persistent sadness, irritability, insomnia, feelings of hopelessness, or loss of interest in hobbies and activities, talk to a health care provider right away.
The key to better pregnancy sleep is highly individualized, and involves a lot of trial and error, Dr. Swarup says. But there are several changes you can make to promote deeper, more comfortable sleep.
There may be some things you’re doing during the day that are affecting your ability to sleep well at night. Dr. Swarup suggests working gentle exercise
into your morning routine so you don’t get too overstimulated at night.
It can also be helpful to maintain a consistent sleep schedule and limit your use of digital devices before bed, says Kecia Gaither, MD , OB-GYN, maternal fetal medicine specialist, and director of perinatal services/maternal fetal medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln in the Bronx, New York.
Dr. Gaither suggests looking at your food and drink consumption: limiting caffeinatedand sugary drinksduring the day can reduce nighttime wakefulness, as can eating smaller, more frequent meals versus big, heavy ones (especially at dinnertime!).
Also, limit fluids before bed to cut down on middle-of-the-night bathroom breaks.
Your body is shaped differently during pregnancy, with a lot of new weight concentrated in your midsection, so a pregnancy pillow , or even just additional regular pillows, can help you get more comfortable in bed.
Dr. Purdie suggests placing small pillows strategically around your back and stomach and between your knees, or opting for one large pregnancy pillow (like a C-shaped body pillow) that supports your whole body.
Cooling down the temperature of your bedroom may help, says Dr. Purdie. Pregnant people often run hotter thanks to the combination of the fetus’s body and added weight.
You may want to rethink lying flat on your bed to sleep, especially during the later trimesters. Both Dr. Gaither and Dr. Purdie say some pregnant people sleep better when their upper body is elevated, either in bed (with wedge pillows or a reclining mattress), in a recliner, or on a couch with added back support.
Most experts recommend sleeping on your side when you’re pregnant to promote optimal blood flow, says Dr. Swarup, but you do have some flexibility here. In general, you can sleep in any position that’s comfortable for you through the first trimester, and even up to 20 weeks of pregnancy, says Dr. Purdie.
In the second and third trimesters, though, you likely won’t be able to sleep on your stomach comfortably, and sleeping on your back isn’t recommended .
“After 20 weeks , the uterus has grown large enough to put pressure on the blood vessels next to the spine, so lying flat on the back can decrease blood flow and make pregnant people feel lightheaded or short of breath,” explains Dr. Purdie.
That said, if you happen to roll over onto your back in your sleep, Dr. Purdie says not to panic—just roll back onto your side when you wake up!
You also might find it comfortable to sleep on your left side with your knees up, says Dr. Gaither; this position can increase blood flow to the uterus and support your back.
Although having trouble sleeping is a common complaint during pregnancy, there may be a point where not sleeping is abnormal or could even be harmful to your health. If you’re so tired that you can’t function during the day or might end up in an unsafe position (like falling asleep at the wheel driving to work), don’t assume there’s nothing you can do to get more rest.
“If you go several nights where you do not sleep at all,” says Dr. Purdie, “you should speak with your doctor about options.”
What are the options? There are a few medications that are safe to take during pregnancy that may help you fall asleep. Dr. Gaither says both Benadryl (diphenhydramine)
and Unisom (doxylamine) are not associated with any adverse fetal effects and have been used extensively in pregnancy.
Then there’s melatonin . It’s use during pregnancy is controversial that’s why you should always check with your health care provider before using any over-the-counter sleep aids to make sure they’re OK with you taking them (along with getting their recommendations on how much to take and how often you can use them).
Also, if you suspect depression or anxiety is causing your inability to sleep, it’s critical you speak to your health care provider about the best treatment.
