Trouble left side sleeping

Hi,

They advise not laying on your back too often because it can put pressure on your vital veins and arteries leading to the placenta, they say left because it decreases your chances of heartburn that way. I'm 32weeks now and i sleep on my belly, my sides and my back just alternating each night or I find I get numbness or muscle pains. Your LMC should put your mind at ease if you have any queries, I called mine all the time to ask for advise (or google searched). She advised me that in pregnancy just about everything is ok in moderation (except you know drugs, raw meat and alcohol). Hope this helps :) and many blessings on your pregnancy.

Also talk to your midwife about the pains, I had them and everyone told me they're normal, but turns out I was low in B12 and a few shots helped make life a bit more manageable. No harm in asking, right?

Firstly congrats and secondly try not to stress to much about which side, sure its recommended to sleep on the left but you cannot do it all the time, I go to sleep on my left but tend to wake on my right or on my back as you cant control what your body does in the night, trust that it knows what its doing.

I get hip pain if I spend too much time on one side, like when you take a plane ride and you cant move that much, I find when I turn over to my right the baby shifts so get in a good comfy position, so he knows whats what too

You need to get as much sleep as possible, so give your midwife a ring and get her to assure you its ok to sleep in different positions thru out the night, after all thats whats shes there for

I found the if i spent too much time on one side or another I would have trouble breathing the next day, i think cos of compressed muscles. So what i do is i sleep on my right side then halfway through the night i take my pillows and switch sides or may lie on my back for a little while before switching fully.. It kinda means broken sleep but i get that most nights anyway cos i test my sugars in the middle of the night anyway..

I, too, thought that the sleeping position only became a real issue as baby gets bigger and begins pressing on vital organs/blood vessels.

I tend to listen to my body and how I feel. I am 22 weeks and already struggle to tolerate lying on my back. I work on the principle (not sure how reliable this is!) that if the position I am in is not good for me or baby I start to feel unwell or wake up. I get a heavy feeling in my abdomen, lightheaded and baby often expresses his displeasure with some full on kicking and moving around.

I think a full and open discussion with your MW is probably in order. Ultimately that is what they are there for and mine never minds being phoned just for reassurance. Better a few minutes reassurance than you feeling really anxious.