It is not easy to find a comfortable position to sleep during pregnancy and many pregnant women suffer from insomnia. But according to a study from the University of Auckland (New Zealand), the further the pregnancy progresses, the more you should avoid sleeping on your back. This position can indeed reduce the flow of blood to the mother’s heart, reduce the baby’s oxygen consumption and increase the risk of stillbirth (that is, a stillborn baby).
For this study, published in The Journal of Physiology, the researchers followed 29 healthy women who were all at 3rd trimester of pregnancy. They asked them to lie down in different positions for 30-minute periods each time, and monitored the health of the mother and child at each position.
A sleeping position that compresses the vena cava
All future mothers and the health of the baby were monitored until childbirth. The researchers then found that when mothers were lying on their backs, the position altered the mother’s heart rate and the child’s activity.
“Our hypothesis is that in this position, the uterus compresses the inferior vena cava which brings blood to the mother’s heart, which reduces blood flow. Most expectant mothers cope with this phenomenon without a problem, but those who do have underlying health problems further increase the risk of stillbirth “ explains Professor Peter Stone, lead author of the study and professor of fetal medicine at the University of Auckland.
Researchers advise future mothers instead to sleep on their left side, which is the side of the aorta. The wall of this vein being much more rigid, it is more difficult to compress it.
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