Should pregnant women sleep with high pillows?

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Any pregnant woman during pregnancy is concerned about issues that can affect her health and the baby's health, including sleep. In fact, many pregnant women wonder whether pregnant women should sleep with their heads or not? Or how does the sleeping position of pregnant women affect? To answer all those questions, readers can follow in the following article.

1. How important is sleep?

Sleep is a daily activity of each person and it plays a significant role in helping each person reach the best state of health and spirit. What's more, sleep has many benefits that we don't know about. Getting enough sleep will help us maintain healthy skin, prevent some diseases such as heart disease, breast cancer in women, strengthen the immune system, prolong life.
For pregnant women, the pressure from increased blood flow to nourish the fetus will be improved by sleep by restoring blood vessels during that time. Moreover, during sleep, the mother's immune system will automatically increase, helping the mother to avoid diseases such as colds and flu, and growth hormone also helps in the growth of the fetus. Because of the above reasons, each person in general and pregnant women in particular should get enough sleep, avoid staying up late to have a healthy body as well as a refreshing spirit for the next day.
SEE ALSO: How does sleep loss during pregnancy affect the fetus?

2. The sleeping positions of pregnant women

Sleep is very important for pregnant women, besides sleeping position is also something to be concerned about. A comfortable sleeping position will help pregnant women sleep better and not affect the fetus. In fact, each pregnant woman's sleeping position is not the same, each person will choose for themselves a position that is most comfortable. The following are common sleeping positions including beneficial and harmful positions for pregnant women should know:

2.1. prone position

Many pregnant women worry that lying on their stomach will put pressure on the fetus, causing danger to the baby. However, at the time of conception, if a pregnant woman has a habit of lying on her stomach, she should not worry too much because at the time of pregnancy, lying on her stomach is not dangerous because the fetus is protected by amniotic fluid, more than the umbilical cord. not suppressed. However, from the 4th month onwards, pregnant women need to change their positions because this time lying on their stomach can be dangerous for the fetus.

2.2. Side lying position

This position is considered by experts to be the best position for pregnant women to get a good night's sleep and benefit the fetus. Lying on the side, especially on the left side, will help pregnant women avoid the situation of the uterus pressing on the lower vein, causing blood flow to the heart to decrease. In addition, when the pregnant mother lies on the left side, the blood flow and nutrients will increase to the fetus, the mother's kidneys will also work more actively, helping to eliminate waste from the body. In addition, lying on the left side helps pregnant women limit swelling of the limbs.
In general, the side-lying position has many benefits for the pregnant mother and the fetus, so right from the time of pregnancy, the mother should practice the habit of lying on her side, at least from the 4th month onwards the mother should maintain Maintain this sleeping position until the baby is born.

2.3. supine position

This is the position that doctors often advise pregnant women to limit throughout pregnancy, especially from the 24th week of pregnancy onwards. In this sleeping position, the uterus puts pressure on the spine, back muscles, intestines, and major blood vessels. In the long term, this condition causes pregnant women to have health problems such as back pain, reduced blood circulation of both mother and fetus, slow heart rate, hemorrhoids, low blood pressure, dizziness or causes apnea. while sleeping.
MORE: When sleeping on your side, which side is better?

3. Should pillow high when pregnant?

How to properly pillow your head when sleeping is something that many pregnant women care about. In fact, there are not any specific requirements for choosing the height of the pillow when going to bed for pregnant women. However, the obstetrician will still give some advice to pregnant women on how to get the best pillow for the pregnant woman.
Pregnant women sleeping with their head pillows should choose to put an extra soft pillow under the pillow they are using to raise their head and back more. This will be very beneficial for pregnant women, because as the gestational age increases, the abdomen becomes larger and larger, the pressure of the fetus makes it more difficult for the mother to breathe, especially during sleep. Therefore, if pregnant women sleep with a higher pillow, it is best to create an angle of about 20 degrees with the bed, this will help the mother breathe easier, and at the same time, the pressure on the diaphragm is reduced, making stomach activities easier. Better thickness makes the mother sleep better.
Besides the higher pillow when sleeping, pregnant women can raise their legs higher to create comfort while sleeping as well as help blood circulation better and limit pregnancy cramps that may occur.
From the 4th month onwards, pregnant mothers will have to choose for themselves a suitable sleeping position to help sleep better and not affect the fetus, especially, the second 3 months of pregnancy is a period of strong fetal development. . Pregnant women need:
Comprehensive fetal malformation screening by superior 4D ultrasound technique. Screening for gestational diabetes, avoiding many dangerous complications for both mother and baby. Control the mother's weight reasonably to assess the health status of the pregnant woman and the development of the fetus. Understand the signs of threatened early delivery (especially in those carrying multiple pregnancies or having a history of miscarriage or premature birth) so that they can receive timely treatment to maintain pregnancy. To protect mother and baby during pregnancy, Vinmec provides a comprehensive Maternity service to monitor the health status of mother and baby, periodical antenatal check-ups with leading Obstetricians and Gynecologists. enough tests, important screening for pregnant women, counseling and timely intervention when detecting abnormalities in the health of mother and baby.

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