Can pregnant women sleep on their backs?

The onset of pregnancy imposes on the future mother a lot of serious restrictions. They extend to food, and to the usual activities, and to the general mode of life, and even to sleep. It is wrong to think that the best posture for a pregnant woman to sleep is lying on her back, although there is enough reason for this assumption: the stomach is not constricted, the chest and heart are also more or less free, and besides, you can breathe easily! And it is so important for the future baby. But is it really so? This question will be discussed further in the article.

First half of pregnancy

At the very beginning of the development of a fertilized egg, many expectant mothers are often not aware of their interesting position and continue to lead their usual way of life. The same applies to the posture for sleep, which prefers a woman. In these terms, even such a posture of pregnancylike a dream on the stomach, is not capable of delivering serious harm to the baby - its size is so small that the uterus is hardly enlarged. However, starting from the 3rd month, the woman already feels heavier in the lower abdomen. At this period, the uterus is increased three times compared with the original size and externally corresponds to the size of a large goose egg. The shell of the ovum develops actively and, in addition to the weight of the embryo, the weight of the amniotic fluid begins to be felt.

When lying on the back, the woman already feels a slight discomfort. This is explained by the simple physical law of gravity, according to which any weighted object rushes down, with a level of pressure on the surrounding tissue, directly proportional to weight. In other words, in a pregnant woman, the uterus lumps on the internal organs located outside it, which means:

1. The intestines contract: a woman may feel a slight tingling, gas accumulation, seething, and colic. Subsequently, this can provoke intestinal disorders, such as constipation or diarrhea, due to keeping the contents at a certain level.
2. The liver, as well as the spleen and pancreas may shift slightly, and this will cause tingling in the muscles.
3. Internal vessels at this stage do not suffer much, but, nevertheless, if they are weak or subject to a certain disease, when lifting a woman can feel a slight dizziness or darkening in the eyes.
4. On the part of the kidneys, there is no significant discomfort at this stage, but, nevertheless, if the active phase of urine separation is in progress, there may be a feeling of distention from the sides.

How does this affect the baby? Basically there is mild hypoxia caused by compression of the regional blood vessels located behind the uterus. This should not be overlooked, since regular lack of oxygen by the child will slow down the development of his nervous system, and this, in turn, will negatively affect such processes as the timeliness of speech skills, the development of the psyche, intellectual abilities, etc.

Second half of pregnancy

The second period of pregnancy is considered the most peaceful. This is a period of active growth of the internal organs and systems of the fetus, as well as an increase in its size. The volume of amniotic fluid also increases significantly.By its end, the abdomen increases significantly in size, the level of the uterus reaches the indicators just above the navel. Her body is rounded, and the body becomes like a chicken egg. At week 28, separate parts of the fetus’s body begin to grope (head, sometimes limbs - with active movement).

It is already difficult for a woman to choose her usual posture for sleep, and obstetrician-gynecologists are actively advancing a posture, lying on her left side. This is explained by the fact that, when positioned on the right side, the hepatic ducts are pinched, which creates serious obstacles for the flow of bile, and, moreover, in most cases the placenta is attached at the right edge and there is a risk of clamping its vessels, and this can already result in a disastrous effect on the fetus .

1. Constriction of the inferior vena cava: obstructs blood flow to both the placenta and the mother's lower limbs.
2. Constriction of the aorta: complicates the complex nutrition of the internal organs of the mother.

In addition, do not forget about nerve fibers, which clamping will lead to a violation of the conductivity of nerve impulses from the spine to the nerve leads of the lower extremities, and this: a sharp decrease in the temperature of internal muscle structures, slowing blood flow due to constriction of blood vessels, loss of sensitivity in lower limbs. Just lying on your back for a long time can cause cramps in your calf muscles at night.

A lot of problems sleep or lying on your back for a long time and the excretory system. Displaced by the abdomen in the normal state, the kidneys hardly cope with the increased load imposed on them. While the woman is lying on her back, her kidneys are squeezed additionally, which creates additional prerequisites for urine stagnation and the development of infectious processes within the organs.

Most of all, the spine suffers from this kind of sleep, which puts pressure on both the mass of the fetus and the weight of the internal organs adjacent to it.

As we see, in a dream on the back for a pregnant woman there is nothing useful, and moreover, it causes irreparable harm to the baby, creating in addition, first of all, a lack of oxygen supply, which can further qualitatively disrupt the overall development of the fetus.

How to choose poses to sleep

As it was written earlier, the optimal posture for a pregnant woman to sleep is considered to be lying on the left side. However, there are cases when for some reason a child does not accept this posture. Each future mother is quite able to feel it: the baby begins to suddenly stop, or vice versa, it is more active than usual to push, expressing its discontent.

In this case, you should periodically change poses and listen to the life of the child, as well as to their personal feelings. Every day, the fetus changes its position, and the inconvenient posture yesterday today may well allow the expectant mother to fully sleep and, thereby, restore the strength she and the child need.

Sometimes there are reasons for which it is not possible to change the position. This may be when:

1. Fractures of bones obtained during pregnancy.
2. The threat of detachment of the placenta - in this case, the pose is prescribed by a doctor and remains until the end of pregnancy.

In this case, the attending physician should monitor the condition of the pregnant mother and any movement should preferably be carried out in his presence, and the condition and reaction of the baby to these movements must be monitored.

The sleep of a pregnant woman is a necessary event for recuperation. However, you should be attentive to body positions and always listen to your feelings and wishes of your baby.

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