Contents:
- Medical Video: Proper Sleep Posture for Overall Wellness
- Why is the sleeping position of pregnant women better sideways?
- Better to turn right or left?
Medical Video: Proper Sleep Posture for Overall Wellness
Not only nutrition that needs to be regulated, sleeping position during pregnancy also needs to be considered. Sleeping sideways is said to be the best sleeping position for pregnant women. Why is that? Is sleeping on your back or sideways to the right bad for pregnant women? Come on, find out the answer in the following review.
Why is the sleeping position of pregnant women better sideways?
You certainly know if sleeping with his prone position is considered less good for pregnant women. This makes you draw the conclusion that pregnant women are safe to sleep on their backs and sideways to the right or left. In fact, this is not the case. Many health experts suggest that pregnant women should sleep sideways.
In fact, the sleeping position affects blood flow, one of which is the inferior vena cava (IVC). These blood vessels are located on the right side of the spine and are responsible for draining blood from the lower part of the body back to the heart.
"If a pregnant woman sleeps on her back, the fetus will suppress IVC and reduce the amount of blood that should return to the heart," Dr. Grace Pien, assistant lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, as quoted from Live Science.
Depressed IVC, makes blood not flow smoothly so that oxygen and food intake for mother and fetus are also not optimal. This condition can cause problems with blood pressure, breathing, and death. This sleep position is very risky if done by pregnant women with asthma or sleep apnea.
A study published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (BJOG) showed that pregnant women who sleep on their backs during pregnancy have a 2.3 risk more likely to experience a baby still birth (baby dies in the womb).
Better to turn right or left?
If you sleep sideways better than lying on your back, then which side should you turn sideways? A study published in the British Medical Journal in 2015 showed that the position of sleeping sideways to the right also increased the risk of being smallstill birth compared to sleeping sideways to the left. Unfortunately, this research still needs to be done more deeply.
So, pregnant women can change positions sideways to the right or left while sleeping. This supports comfort during sleep and prevents cramps or aches when you wake up due to the same position for a long time.
