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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    Default Help! I can't sleep on my left side.

    OK, this is weird. I've always been a side sleeper. Always on my right. Now that I'm pregnant, I know I'm supposed to sleep on my left, and I always go to sleep that way.

    I even have a Snoogle that I've propped around myself, hoping that would hold me in place. But sometime around the middle of the night, I drift to lying flat on my back or sleeping on my right side. It's how I've slept since childhood and I don't know how to change it.

    How bad is it, really? Does anyone have any suggestions for staying on my left?
    Beaming mom to DS born 10/20/2010.
    The Force is strong with this one.

  2. #2
    SnuggleBuggles is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    My CNM gave me the all clear for sleeping however I could and wanted to.

    Beth

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    Its ok to end up on the other side, by the end of my pregnancy it was painful to stay on one side too long so I ended up going back and forth from one side to the other.
    DS 1/10 "boo-boo"

  4. #4
    bcafe is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    I can't imagine spending all night on my left side. I start out there because I can breathe better, but eventually I end up on my right side or my back. I would think your hips would hurt staying on one side all of the time. Also, no one sleeps in the same position all night, whether pg or not. Don't worry about it!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    My doc said that if you wake up on your back to just flip over onto your side. I go from one side to the other all night long- have to or else my hips just kill me!

  6. #6
    prats is offline Bronze level (10+ posts)
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    hey congratulations!!!...........how far along are you? i know its difficult to sleep in any one position through the night......but there is a reason it is recommended to sleep on left side though its not a rule..............there is a large blood vessel called inferior vena cava on right side, which will be compressed when you sleep on your back(more) and right side(less).....this will affect blood flow from legs to heart,flow to kidneys and also fetus........
    So dont be too tensed about waking up on ur back or right side......just turn over on left side and sleep when you are aware......alternating between right n left side thru the night may also be good

    i am in my ninth month and still using the snoogle to sleep......it has helped me a lot......bring it very close to ur back when you sleep on your side, so even if u turn over at night, u r not completely flat on your back.....you will be tilted to your side,which is good enough.........
    hope this helps!!!

  7. #7
    swissair81 is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    You could sleep on your right side if you are more comfortable that way. At this point you do what's comfortable for you.

    When I was pregnant with DD2, my DH got me a tempur-pedic body pillow & I am using it through my third pregnancy now. I do sleep on my left side (because it's comfortable) & I wrap myself around the pillow before I go to sleep.

  8. #8
    LarsMal is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    I would get a horrible pain in my hip when I slept on my left side (all three pregnancies). I slept on my right side. It was fine! There were many nights I'd wake up on my back and just flip back to the side.

    You'll be fine on your right side.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    The reason for the left side is that there is a big artery on your right side that can be blocked when you sleep that way (this is according to my prenatal yoga instructor, so I'm not sure how true it is). That being said, I always had to switch sides at night because my left hip would lose circulation. When I was in labor, I couldn't even lay on my left side because when I did, DD's heart rate decelerated, so I had to stay on my back. In the end, I just think you should sleep however you can.

  10. #10
    swissair81 is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    The inferior vena cava is actually behind the uterus. That is why you shouldn't sleep on your back. The reason for sleeping on the left side, is because that provides optimum blood flow to the placenta.

    Try bending your knees & putting a pillow between them. Put another pillow under your head (lengthwise) and kind of wrap your arms around it. That might help.

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