# Should pregnant women sleep on their stomachs?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pregnant-women-sleep-on-their-stomachs/173168>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 5, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pregnant-women-sleep-on-their-stomachs/173168 "2003-05-05T13:24:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pregnant-women-sleep-on-their-stomachs/173168/1 "2003-05-05T13:24:04Z")

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My wife is pregnant (~3 months) and she still sleeps on her stomach. She says it’s fine, but I’m not so sure.

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**Author:** ![cagiva650](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cagiva650](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cagiva650)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pregnant-women-sleep-on-their-stomachs/173168/2 "2003-05-05T13:27:23Z")

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listen do not bug your wife. She will turn over once it feels uncomfortable.

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**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pregnant-women-sleep-on-their-stomachs/173168/3 "2003-05-05T13:31:10Z")

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It’s not going to make that much difference how she sleeps. The baby is nice and protected, and Lord knows your wife won’t be able to sleep that way for very much longer.

Robin

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**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pregnant-women-sleep-on-their-stomachs/173168/4 "2003-05-05T13:41:45Z")

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Ditto. In the meantime, be a nice guy and buy here a body pillow.

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**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pregnant-women-sleep-on-their-stomachs/173168/5 "2003-05-05T14:45:18Z")

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Let her enjoy the last little bit of time she has left to sleep on her stomach. Pretty soon it’ll be too uncomfortable.

~lola - mother of four children

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**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pregnant-women-sleep-on-their-stomachs/173168/6 "2003-05-05T15:33:04Z")

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Pregnant women should not sleep on their backs after the start of the second trimester, as the weight of the developing fetus can compress the blood vessels that supply the uterus and thus deprive the fetus of oxygen.

I’ve never seen anything suggesting that sleeping on the stomach is particularly bad (in fact, some sources say that it helps to relieve strain on the back), but it will likely become very uncomfortable before long. You can use pillows (the body pillow **beagledave** mentions is a very good idea) or other approaches to create a “well” for her expanding belly to rest in.

Most sources I’ve seen recommend sleeping on the left side because that facilitates the flow of blood back to the heart.