Last week, we discussed the importance of sleep and its benefits during pregnancy. This week, we are continuing our discussion about sleep during your unplanned pregnancy. Let’s break down what causes lack of sleep during pregnancy, sleeping positions to avoid and tips for better sleep.
Lack of Sleep
There are many reasons why you may not be able to sleep during your pregnancy! Here are just a few:
- The increasing size of your growing stomach
- Physical discomfort, such as tenderness in your breasts and back pain
- Fetal movement
- Heartburn
- Shortness of breath
- Insomnia
- Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)
- Sleep apnea
- GERD (acid reflux)
- Frequent urination
- Nausea and vomiting due to morning sickness
- Anxiety about labor and delivery
- Irregular uterine contractions
What You Should Avoid
When it comes to getting adequate sleep during your pregnancy and ensuring the health of both you and your baby, you should try and avoid sleeping on your back as much as possible.
Sleeping on your back has been known to cause the following issues: backaches, digestive and breathing problems, hemorrhoids, low blood pressure and a decrease in circulation. When your abdomen is, essentially, resting on your intestines and major blood vessels, this puts extra weight on your uterus and spine. This position can also cause you overall discomfort, which is why doctors recommend that you avoid sleeping on your back while pregnant.
The best sleep position during pregnancy is on your side – your left side in particular, as it provides optimal blood flow to your heart, baby, kidneys and uterus. It also helps your digestion. If you wake up on your back, don’t worry. Our bodies naturally shift in our sleep. When you go to bed, though, shift to your left side and your body will learn as time progresses.
Tips for Better Sleep
There are a copious amount of tips and good habits out there to achieve better sleep; however, Adoption Choices of Colorado has searched high and low to provide you with a compiled list of the best ones. Here are 17 of the most recommended tips for better sleep during your pregnancy:
- Sleeping on your left side with knees bent – this improves blood flow. Try using several pillows under your back, between your knees and under your abdomen for support. The American Pregnancy Association recommends the Slumbar Bump Pregnancy Pillow.
- Prop up your upper body – helps with heartburn or snoring.
- Eat smaller, more frequent meals – avoid large amounts of spicy, acidic or fried foods in order to avoid heartburn.
- Use nightlights – bright lights can make it harder for you to fall back asleep. Especially if you are getting up to go to the bathroom.
- Be consistent with your sleep schedule – go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
- Prioritize sleep
- Keep active – regular physical activity during pregnancy can help you fall asleep more easily. Do not exercise at bedtime.
- Keep daytime naps short
- Don’t force sleep – if you are unable to sleep, get up and read a book. Knit or crochet something for your baby. Write in a journal or take a warm bath.
- Don’t watch the clock
- Cut out caffeinated drinks – keep soda, coffee and tea from your diet as much as possible. Restrict any intake of them to the morning or early afternoon.
- Avoid drinking a lot of fluids or eating a full meal within a few hours of going to bed – this helps avoid fewer trips to the bathroom. However, make sure that you also get plenty of nutrients and liquids throughout the day. Some women find it helpful to eat more at breakfast and lunch and then have a smaller dinner. If nausea is keeping you up, try eating a few crackers before going to bed.
- Stretch before you sleep – decreases the likelihood of being awoken from leg cramps. Taking enough magnesium and calcium can help with this, too. As always, though, consult with your doctor first.
- Take a yoga class or learn relaxation or breathing techniques – can help you unwind after a busy day. Be sure to discuss any new activity or fitness regimen with your doctor first.
- Enroll in a childbirth or parenting class – if fear and anxiety are keeping you awake, more knowledge and the company of other pregnant women may help to ease your stress.
- Set the mood – a dark, quiet and relaxing environment and a comfortable temperature helps encourage optimal sleep.
- Remove electronic devices from your bedroom
Questions for Your Doctor
As always, if you ever have any questions or concerns, be sure to consult with your doctor. He or she will always have the best advice and be sure to provide the best ways to proceed when handling nutrition, exercise and sleep during your pregnancy. Here are a few questions to ask your healthcare provider when it comes to sleep when you are pregnant:
- How can I get through my day when I’m tired all the time?
- Is there anything I can take for heartburn?
- Does exercise improve sleep quality?
- Is it normal to snore during pregnancy?
- Are there over-the-counter sleep medications or supplements that are okay to use during pregnancy?
- Are there foods I should or should not eat that will help me sleep better?
- Is there such a thing as too much sleep and does that cause Pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure)?
- Are there anxiety medications that are okay to use during pregnancy?
Sleeping during Your Unplanned Pregnancy
As you continue your pregnancy journey, remember that nutrition, safe exercise and proper sleep are paramount to a happy and healthy pregnancy. They are each entwined as you and you cannot have one without the other. So, if you need tips and tricks regarding nutrition or exercise, be sure to look back at our past blogs!
A big part of this journey is remembering that you are never alone. Adoption Choices of Colorado is always here to provide ample tips, tricks and solutions in any form of support or resource you might need during this time.
Adoption Choices of Colorado
Adoption Choices, Inc. is a private, non-profit adoption agency licensed by the state and leader in the adoption community. We have been assisting birth parents, children, and adoptive parents in Colorado since 2002. Our staff has a genuine commitment to providing an empathetic, empowering, and progressive experience to all involved in the adoption process. For more information on adoption please contact Adoption Choices of Colorado. We can be reached via our website or phone 303-670-4401.
Support Adoption Choices
Adoption Choices, Inc. is partnering with Crowdrise, a fundraising website for nonprofits, to help our adoptive parents and birth parents with much needed financial assistance. We understand that expenses keep clients from fulfilling their dreams. Both with birth parents making a plan for adoption, and with adoptive parents growing their family. It is our mission to provide financial assistance through grants and scholarships, awarded annually in November, in honor of National Adoption Month. Funds assist adoptive parents with matching and placements, adoption finalization and helping birth mothers improve their lives through higher education — and much more.
However, we can’t do it alone. Please read up on our programs and donate money where you are able. Your donation will make a huge impact.
About the Author
Taylor Tsakopulos, the bestselling student. She has interned locally in Denver and internationally in Dublin, Ireland, taken classes/workshops and worked odd jobs and yet always comes back to being a student and the desire to learn or create.
She is a jack of all trades (i.e. a Gemini). She is a Denver-based writer, creator, artist and student. A graduate from Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU).
When she isn’t creating content she’s off dancing and hiking. Always chasing after new things and experiences. After living and working in Europe, she is hungry for more.
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Sources:
Hirsch, L. (Ed.). (2016, October). Sleeping During Pregnancy (for Parents) – Nemours KidsHealth. Retrieved March 21, 2020, from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sleep-during-pregnancy.html
Pregnancy and Sleep. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/pregnancy-and-sleep
Pregnant Women: Good Sleep is One of the Best Ways to Assure a Healthy Baby. (2007, September 26). Retrieved March 21, 2020, from https://aasm.org/pregnant-women-good-sleep-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-assure-a-healthy-baby/
Sleep during pregnancy: Follow these tips. (2019, April 25). Retrieved March 21, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/sleep-during-pregnancy/art-20043827
Staff, F. E. (2017, June 6). Sleep and Pregnancy. Retrieved March 21, 2020, from https://familydoctor.org/getting-enough-sleep-pregnancy/
Stephanie joined the Adoption Choices family in 2014 as the Child Placement Supervisor. Her love for adoption began in first grade when she made friends with twins adopted from Vietnam. Her heart grew strong over the years for adopted children and ultimately led her to graduate school where she continued her focus to her dream of working in the adoption field. Stephanie earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver in 2001. Over the past 15 years, Stephanie has worked as a pregnancy counselor and as an adoptive parent counselor for foster care, international adoption and domestic adoption, writing hundreds of home studies for families, and helping build their forever families. Stephanie is married and has three boys ages 12, 9, and 5. Together with her family she enjoys riding bike, playing games, watching her three sons compete in their various sporting and musical activities and go on vacations.
Christy Ikeler, is our Executive Director and Birth Parent Director. Christy has been with Adoption Choices Team for 18 years, since opening the doors in 2002! Christy has a true passion for what she does and her true love is working with and helping each birth parent. Whether she is up all night on the phone talking with them, taking them to doctors appointments, out for their favorite treat, providing counseling or at the hospital during labor and delivery, Christy is very involved every step of the way. She has a contagious laugh and a spunky personality that our birth moms all can bond with and relate to. As an adoptive parent herself, adoption holds a very special place in her heart and she can relate on every level with both birth parents and adoptive parents. In her free time Christy loves spending time with her daughter, gardening, baking and taking vacations with her family. Christy is an excellent leader for our team at Adoption Choices and is truly one of a kind!! As Executive Director, Christy spends time with the staff, birth parents and adoptive families in order to ensure that the agency is running smoothly. She has placed a huge emphasis on community outreach and programs for birth parents. Christy loves the opportunity to lead the agency into a brighter future.
Ms. Mackenzie has built a successful counseling career over the past 20 years, supporting mothers and families, people of all ages and genders, students, community professionals and fellow clinicians. Liv values a diverse professional focus, including the entrepreneurial life of a sole proprietor, the evaluative process of certifying foster/adoptive homes, the insightful and mindful one-on-one one work with enthusiastic clients, and serving as an advocate for underserved populations. Liv is a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds a BA in Pre-Law and Economics from American University, an MA in Counseling from Adams University and a certificate in Human Resource Management from Villanova University. Away from work you will find Liv spending time in nature, biking to the farmer’s market and adventuring with her family.
Catherine A. Madsen, joined the Adoption Choices family as legal counsel in 2013. Catherine is responsible for providing legal guidance to the Agency, training and updating staff on developments in adoption law and legislation, and program development. Catherine
Virginia Frank is an adoption attorney accredited since 1991 with the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. Ms. Frank is a leader in the field of private adoption and has completed over 4,000 adoptions in her career. Ms. Frank has a law degree from Oklahoma City University and a BA in both Political Science and Communications from the University of Oklahoma.
Cassidie has been with Adoption Choices since 2015, she has her bachelors in Interdisciplinary Affairs with concentrations in both Sociology and Business Management. Cassidie has additional training in Victim Advocacy, foster care and has been working in women’s services for over 10 years. Cassidie has always had a heart for adoption and it was her career dream to work in adoption. She started off doing volunteer work for advocacy programs, adoption organizations and worked in High Risk Maternal Fetal Medicine through the University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Cassidie is also blessed to have personally experienced an adoption of her own in 2012, completing her family of five! Cassidie loves what she does as a case worker from initial phone calls, meetings, doctor appointments, interaction with the adoptive families to delivery and counseling. Cassidie has a passion for those in need and strives to help make a difference in the lives of the people she meets. She is a firm believer in being kind, compassionate and open minded in all situations. “Unless you’ve walked in their shoes, there’s no place for judgment. A kind word or compliment can go a long way!” The bittersweet moments in adoption reminds Cassidie each and every time, why she loves what she does!