You can lay on your back on the couch for short periods in early pregnancy, but in the second and third trimesters, it's best to limit it to a few minutes or avoid prolonged periods (like hours) as the growing uterus can press on major blood vessels, reducing blood flow to you and the baby. Shifting to your side, especially the left side, with pillows for support, is the safest bet for longer rest, as it improves circulation.
In the second and third trimesters, lying on your back may compress a major blood vessel that takes blood to your uterus, making you feel dizzy and possibly reducing blood flow to your fetus. Sleeping on your side during your second and third trimesters may be best.
Lie on your left side with the pillow between your legs and propped up under the side of your belly for the best quality of sleep. Tip: Don't have a pregnancy pillow? Use two or three regular pillows in the same spots.
“There's no specific number of minutes that's been shown to be safe versus unsafe.” She adds that it's typically okay to lay on your back during the first trimester, but in the mid-to-late second trimester, she recommends avoiding lying flat on your backs for prolonged periods of time.
Sleeping flat on the back as an expecting mother may be risky as your baby's weight might result in the compression of a major blood vessel, the inferior vena cava, that carries blood to the heart.
Extended periods of sitting can reduce circulation and cause swelling or joint stiffness. For the best comfort, limit reclining sessions to 30-60 minutes at a time.
Most obstetricians suggest that most pregnant people in their 2nd or 3rd trimester will naturally feel strange after too long sleeping in a completely flat position and shift. Even sleeping on a slight incline versus flat on the back was associated with little risk to the pregnancy.
Maternity care provider clinicians have been aware for many decades that maternal supine position and pregnancy are not a good mix. This is probably because when the woman lies on her back the gravid uterus is known to compress the inferior vena cava (Kerr et al. 1964).
This is because the growing uterus exerts pressure on the inferior vena cava when lying on your back, which can lead to decreased circulation and potential complications such as dizziness, breathlessness, or a drop in blood pressure, which could affect your baby's supply of nutrients and oxygen.
The theory is that as the uterus gets larger (beyond 20 weeks or so), it can compress an important blood vessel. This decreases mom's blood pressure, and can reduce blood flow to the placenta and baby. That this occurs is something we know from physiology.
With the increased weight of the baby and change in gravity, your posture may also change and this will place further strain on your back. Pregnant women can safely sleep or rest in any position in the early weeks of pregnancy but after 19 weeks should limit lying on your back for only short periods of time.
There's no single "hardest" month, as challenges vary, but many find the first trimester tough due to nausea, fatigue, and hormonal shifts, while the third trimester (months 7-9) often brings the most physical discomfort from the baby's size, affecting sleep, mobility, and causing aches, heartburn, and frequent urination. The difficulty often shifts as pregnancy progresses, with the first months focused on adjustment and the later months on physical strain and preparation for birth.
Five key warning signs during pregnancy needing immediate medical attention include vaginal bleeding, severe headaches with vision changes, decreased baby movement, severe abdominal pain/cramping, and signs of preterm labor like regular contractions or fluid leakage, as these can signal serious issues like miscarriage, preeclampsia, placental problems, or infection. Always contact your healthcare provider or seek emergency care for these symptoms.
Keep your knees straight, but not locked. Stretch the top of your head toward the ceiling. Tighten your stomach, pulling it in and up when you're able. Don't tilt your pelvis forward or backward.
Here is a short list of new symptoms you may experience with your change in blood flow:
Sleeping on the back or side through the 30th week of pregnancy does not appear to increase the risk of stillbirth, reduced size at birth, or high blood pressure disorders of pregnancy, suggests an analysis funded by NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
This varies, but your belly usually starts feeling hard during your second or third trimester. As your uterus grows, it eventually pushes against your abdominal wall, making your abdomen feel firm. The muscles and ligaments around your uterus stretch, too, which can cause mild cramping, called round ligament pain.
Insomnia affects most pregnant women at some point. Your chances of having to deal with insomnia increase as your pregnancy progresses. About 1 in 4 women (25%) have insomnia in early pregnancy (the first trimester). Up to 80% of women report insomnia symptoms by the end of the third trimester.
It's common to wake up a few times a night, usually because of such discomforts as back pain, needing to urinate, leg cramps, heartburn, and fetal movement. Strange dreams are also common in the last few weeks of pregnancy. The need to take daily naps may return as your due date approaches.
Here are some key indicators of a healthy pregnancy:
After 20 weeks of pregnancy, you're better off not spending the entire night flat on your back. But propping yourself up with a pillow to sleep can help you get comfortable and keep your blood flowing. Try putting a pillow between your back and the mattress.
That's because the major blood vessels in the body (the aorta and the vena cava) run just next to the spine on the right side of the body. As your baby grows, the weight of the uterus can compress these vessels and interrupt blood flow to your uterus, possibly reducing blood flow to the fetus.
Unfortunately, back sleeping isn't considered safe for you or your fetus after 20 weeks of pregnancy. While you shouldn't panic if you wake up and find yourself accidentally lying flat on your back, it's best to do what you can to avoid it.
Although there is no consensus on the full spectrum of forbidden points,3 those most frequently cited as contraindicated throughout pregnancy (at least before 37 weeks) are SP6, LI4, BL60, BL67, GB21, LU7, and points in the lower abdomen (eg, CV3–CV7) and sacral region (eg, BL27–34).
The second trimester often brings some relief. But by the third trimester, it can become hard to find a comfortable sleeping position. At this stage, high levels of estrogen can also cause some women to develop rhinitis (swelling of the nasal tissue), which can be associated with snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.