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Medical Video: The Youngest Moms Of All Time
Finding a comfortable sleeping position when the pregnancy has entered the age of more than 7 months can be a challenge. But be careful. Old pregnant women should avoid lying on their backs.
According to a New Zealand study published in the Journal of Physiology, sleeping on your back during late pregnancy increases your risk of stillbirth. What is the article?
Sleeping on your back during old pregnancy blocks the supply of oxygen to the fetus
The WHO estimates that there are around 2.6 million cases of stillbirths that occur annually throughout the world, especially in low and middle income countries. In Indonesia alone, 19 of the 1000 live birth rates are stillbirth cases (IDHS, 2012). Stillbirth is defined as the birth of a baby who has died in the womb after 20 weeks of pregnancy. If the baby dies before the womb reaches 20 weeks, this is called miscarriage.
The team of researchers from the University of Auckland, in a paper published in the Journal of Physiology, now found that pregnant women in the third trimester who sleep on their backs can provide stress to the fetus. Sleeping on your back during old pregnancy can change heart rate and activity, which blocks the supply of oxygen for the baby. Low activity and heart rhythm in infants is known as a cause of stress in the fetus, which can increase the risk of stillbirth.
"Our hypothesis is that lying on your back compresses the main blood vessels that bring blood back to the mother's heart," said Peter Stone, professor of fetal medicine and mother of the University of Auckland, reported by Medical News Today. But then, Stone continued, fresh blood flow from the mother's heart to the uterus can be blocked and reduced.
This study is not the first to show that there is a relationship between maternal sleeping position and the risk of stillbirth. Reporting from Live Science, the same group of researchers found that women who slept on their backs had an increased risk of stillbirth compared to those who slept sideways on the left side. In the study, the researchers estimated that the risk of stillbirth for women who slept on their backs or on their right side was around 4 out of 1,000, compared with about 2 in 1,000 in women who slept on their left side.
However, experts say that the results of this study are too early to conclude recommendations based on findings, and that pregnant women do not need to quickly change the way they lie because they worry about the results of the above research.
The risk of stillbirth from sleeping on your back increases if you have these factors
Experts emphasize that the incidence of stillbirth is not that easy because of only one factor. The causes of most cases of stillbirth generally include birth defects, problems with the umbilical cord or placenta, and maternal health problems. In addition, women who smoke or have high blood pressure, for example, have a greater risk than others for experiencing stillbirth. Even often there is no explanation for stillbirth.
However, experts argue that it makes sense that supine sleep can have a certain contribution to the risk of stillbirth, especially in women who have health problems. Lying on your back can worsen sleep apnea, where breathing becomes interrupted (repeatedly stops) throughout the night. And if the fetus in the womb is at high risk, the oxygen intake that is hampered due to respiratory problems can increase the chance of stillbirth.
"But without objective evidence, such as measuring precisely how much blood flow changes accurately to the placenta and baby, it is difficult to accept these findings without causing a bit of doubt," said Dr. Halit Pinar, director of Perinatal and Pediatric Pathology in Women and Infants Hospital, quoted from Consumer Report. Indeed, the researchers only studied the mother's sleeping position for 30 minutes so they could not ascertain how the supine sleeping position could affect the health of the fetus during sleep overnight. This is something they plan to dig deeper into in the future.
What kind of sleeping position is good when you are pregnant?
The most recommended sleeping position during late pregnancy is lying on the left side. Lie on your left side, with your knees bent, and tuck two or more pillows between your knees. This releases pressure from the muscles around the hips and pelvis. Keeping a pillow under your stomach while lying down can also help relieve the pressure on your back.
If you wake up at night and find yourself lying on your back, try not to worry too much. It's natural to keep moving while we sleep. Simply change the position sideways to the left side again before going back to sleep. You can try using a pillow that is tucked under your back to refute you to keep lying on your side and stop you rolling back on your back.
"Pregnant women must sleep in a position that they think is most comfortable," said Hannah Knight, a spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in the UK. If you have any questions and concerns about a particular sleeping position, experts recommend that you discuss it with your obstetrician.
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