Pregnancy is a process which brings about lots of physical changes as well as causing the excitement of expecting your baby, and may be challenging from time to time

Your body may have difficulty in keeping up with the physiological changes which gain speed day by day.

In the ‘late pregnancy’ stage during which your day-to-day performance reduces, quality sleep becomes more and more important.

Now that a healthy, adequate and comfortable sleep is this important for both you and your baby, as Mom’s Land, we would like to give some tips to you:

You are recommended to sleep on a bed as hard as possible in order to keep your backbone healthy, prevent back and lower back pain, and have a healthy sleep during pregnancy.

It is said that sleeping in a supine or prone position causes no problems in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. If your doctor sees no risk, you can lie in a supine or prone position, whichever is comfortable for you, during this period.

That is because the uterus is below the navel and barely expands out during the first 20 weeks. Your baby is protected from any external damages as it is in a fluid-filled sac, and it is probable that you will sooner or later begin to have difficulty in lying in these positions due to your belly getting bigger after the first 20 weeks.

The healthiest sleep position recommended by the experts for pregnant women is lying on one’s left side. Since the largest vein in the body is close to the right side, lying on your left side prevents compression of the blood vessels, thus eliminating the risk of swelling. Besides, as the blood circulation will be easier and healthier in this position, your baby receives more oxygen and nutrients.

You will have a more comfortable and uninterrupted sleep if you pull your legs towards your stomach, or even put a pillow between your legs and against your back while lying on your side, which is recommended as the most comfortable sleep position.

For a more comfortable sleep:

1. During pregnancy, try to keep off beverages containing caffeine such as coke, tea and coffee both for your health and to go to sleep more easily. If you cannot keep off these, at least do not drink these beverages in the afternoon or soon before you go to bed.
2. As it interrupts sleep, the need to wake up to urinate at night reduces the quality of your sleep. In order to prevent this, you are recommended to stop consuming any fluids 2 to 3 hours prior to going to bed. Eating heavy and fatty foods before going to bed is not recommended either since that might disturb your stomach. If you feel very hungry or have nausea, salty crackers may be a good solution.
3. Try to make your body get used to sleeping at the same time each night. Prior to this particular time, you can resort to reading books or listening to relaxing music, which will make it easy for you to sleep, instead of doing exercise or watching TV.
4. Before going to bed, ventilating your bedroom and making it as dark as possible is important as well. Do not watch TV or play with your mobile phone in your bedroom. Studies show that there is a significant increase in sleep quality of the individuals who do not allow technological devices in their bedrooms.
5. Taking a warm shower before going to bed will help your muscles relax as well as making you sleepy.
6. You may have to change your usual sleep positions during pregnancy. Having an extra pillow in your bed to put between your legs or against your back might be useful.
7. If you are suffering from nighttime leg cramps, this may be a sign of calcium deficiency, in which case you can consult your doctor to learn if you need to take vitamin supplements.

If you cannot go to sleep even though you have tried everything, you can get up and walk around in the house instead of exerting yourself to go back to sleep. Or you can try doing something you like.