Pregnancy do not sleep at night. I have a hard time finding a comfortable position

Many women complain of insomnia and poor sleep during pregnancy. For some, the biorhythm goes astray: I want to sleep at lunchtime or after eating, and at night, sleep, as luck would have it, does not work. On the one hand, the reason for such changes is clear: the body is being rebuilt, and the expectant mother lives according to the baby's regimen. But, on the other hand, constant insomnia, poor sleep, drowsiness and night cramps exhaust a pregnant woman, undermining her nervous system. As a result, irritability, aggressiveness, apathy towards everything that happens appears.

So, it happens in different ways, some complain about, others, on the contrary, about poor sleep.

Is it possible to do something to normalize the regimen during pregnancy and give the body the opportunity to get enough sleep, because good sleep necessary for the health of both the mother and the unborn child.

Physical exercise. Good sleep must be earned. The body must burn a certain number of calories per day, and the body receives desired load. A special set of regular exercises will help you spend your excess energy to good use and give you a healthy restful sleep. However, it should be remembered that physical exercise before going to bed are contraindicated.

Do not eat at night. A full stomach can give you a feeling of heaviness, you will roll over from one side to the other, in a vain attempt to sleep. Another possible nuisance due to a hearty dinner is heartburn. Because of her, you will definitely fall asleep soon.
, which can be placed under the head, knees, hips and for back support.

Don't watch TV late. The optimal time for going to bed is 22:00. At this time, the body is ready for complete relaxation and rest.

Relaxation before bed. Calm music, a favorite book and a warm bath with thick foam - is it really possible not to fall asleep after all this? Do not wait until sleep comes if you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night. Read something, do some things that do not require much effort (take up knitting, wash the dishes).

Avoid stress and negative emotions th, do not watch horror films and thrillers, skip reports about military operations and natural disasters, do not scroll through your head what you have heard or seen ever negative information. Surround yourself with everything beautiful: put flowers in a vase, change the curtains in the bedroom for more colorful ones, buy yourself a cheerful sundress and a cup with funny drawings, watch children's programs and cartoons.

In the first trimester of pregnancy, expectant mothers usually do not have problems with sleep, on the contrary. Yes, and insomnia is rare in the second trimester. Women are full of energy and joy, peace and harmony. The child moves sensitively, but not painfully. New sensations of motherhood give a full awareness of happiness.

But in the third trimester, a real sleep disturbance sets in - this scourge of expectant mothers, depriving them of all strength. The spine hurts, a huge belly makes it difficult to breathe and change positions in a dream, in addition, frequent urge to urinate and painful leg muscle cramps torment.

Four o'clock in the morning. You got up to pee and for the past half hour you can’t fall asleep - you are disturbed by gloomy and anxious thoughts. You walk around the house, your family is sniffing sweetly everywhere, and you don’t know what to do now. You stand at the window and think that the whole world is sleeping, and you are left alone with your anxiety. But you are not alone. Such problems haunt from 70 to 90% of expectant mothers. This is a sad paradox: right now, when rest is so necessary for you and your unborn child, it is impossible to fall asleep. But nightmares during pregnancy are not uncommon.

Insomnia has not only physical, but also psychological reasons. The reason is anxiety. The closer the birth, the greater the fear - whether everything will go as it should, how to deal with it. These thoughts are understandable, but they are enemies. The second reason is the physiological changes associated with pregnancy. However, these problems can be dealt with.

In the last 2-3 months, the uterus is so enlarged that it is simply impossible for you to find a comfortable position in bed. Any change in posture requires a real balancing act from a pregnant woman. The strong movements of the child interfere with sleep - their amplitude increases when the woman goes to bed, and weakens in the active phase of the pregnant woman, as the movements of the mother lull the child. If the baby's movements interfere with sleep, gently stroke him or expose his stomach to open light. And bad dreams will bother you less.

A large tummy makes the spine carry more and more weight and the body begins to protest - back pain intensifies. In addition, the enlarged uterus presses on bladder and makes you get up more often to go to the toilet. In addition, in the third semester, painful cramps of the leg muscles are not uncommon. Scientists have not yet determined their exact cause. Perhaps this is due to a calcium or magnesium deficiency in the body, due to uterine pressure on certain nerve endings, or due to weakening circulatory system. If you add other infirmities to this (headaches, pulling pains in the groin), then it may turn out that sleeping through the night is an inaccessible miracle.

To sleep well, you need to ... plan to fall asleep

You need to think about this long before nightfall. So, to reduce complaints of insomnia, try this:

diet for insomnia during pregnancy

The last meal is 2-3 hours before bedtime. It should be a very easily digestible food - as much protein and carbohydrates as possible, as little fat as possible. Foods rich in protein (milk, fish, cheese, poultry) will add a little tryptophan to your body - this is an amino acid that raises the level of serotonin, and serotonin, in turn, allows you to sleep peacefully. In the same way, carbons act in baked goods, rice, corn, pasta, oatmeal. Do not drink tea or Coca-Cola in the evening - there is a lot of caffeine. But it will go well herbal infusion relaxing action - chamomile, lemon balm, lavender. The traditional home remedy, warm milk, acts almost like sleeping powder, as warming the milk releases the tryptophan in it.

Remember magnesium - it is necessary for good night, and even reduces cramps in the muscles of the legs. Magnesium is enough in nuts, soy, buckwheat, bananas.

Also remember that herbs are not safe. Whatever herbs you are considering drinking, ask your doctor. Valerian root, wormwood or passionflower should be especially avoided.

How Much Should You Sleep During Pregnancy

This is individual. One lacks six hours of sleep, the other is broken even after eight or nine. Listen to your body and if you want to sleep, lie down. Sleep problems become a source of chronic stress. It can ruin your hormones and general state health. Therefore, with an increase in the problem, go to the gynecologist. Sometimes heart problems or depression can hide behind insomnia. And sleep disturbances during your pregnancy is an important signal!

Don't worry too much about the baby. It's you who doesn't get enough sleep, and he can sleep at almost any time. Your stress hormones will hurt him more than your lack of sleep. And don't be afraid bad dreams- almost all expectant mothers have them. You are just standing on the threshold of a new life. Once again, don't be afraid.

Occasionally, during periods of chronic fatigue or stress, others are constantly tormented by it. Sleep disorder often worries expectant mothers. Why does insomnia occur during pregnancy? Does it threaten the development of the fetus? And what about pregnant women who sleep very badly?

Why insomnia occurs in late pregnancy

This is the name of a sleep disorder that is characterized by poor falling asleep, short duration and quality of sleep. At first glance, a small problem, but in fact it significantly affects the quality of human life, and what can we say about expectant mothers!

Their sleep disorder is more often disturbing in recent months pregnancy. But on early dates many complain that they do not get enough sleep for 7-8 hours of sleep at night and constantly experience drowsiness.

There are several reasons for insomnia in the third trimester. And, above all, it is a growing uterus that creates heaviness and discomfort for everyone. internal organs. Night trips to the toilet become more frequent, because the bladder is constantly under pressure, nighttime heartburn also interferes.

The weight of the baby also increases the load on the skeleton, which leads to pain and a feeling of heaviness that does not go away even at night. And stretching skin causes itching, and this prevents a woman from sleeping normally. Fear of childbirth is another significant factor, especially if the pregnancy is the first. Therefore, many expectant mothers have nightmares. Fearing their repetition, they cannot sleep.

By and large, insomnia does not affect the baby at this time. But if you consider that the fetus and mother are one, then her sleep disorder and the child in the womb makes her restless.

How to deal with insomnia during pregnancy

The best way is to prevent it. Already in the early stages of bearing a baby, a woman must bring a certain order into her life, observe a regimen so that the body can more easily adapt to stress and a new role. You have to go to bed at the same time. It helps female body form the habit of going to bed easier and faster. The most important things must be planned for the first half of the day.

If a woman on maternity leave allows herself to sleep for an hour or two during the day, then perhaps this is precisely what prevents her from falling asleep in the evening. In this case, you should try to refuse daytime sleep. It can be replaced by reading, a slow walk in the park, or other activities that allow the body to rest and bring pleasure.

Of great importance is the quality of food, especially dinner. No tea, coffee, chocolate, fatty meat, fried foods can not be consumed! Three hours before bedtime in the stomach future mother only light food should be taken. For dinner, it is recommended to eat vegetables, fish, cereals, dairy products.

The room in which the expectant mother sleeps should not contain objects that distract her. This is a ticking clock, TV, radio. Yes, and the attributes for sleep should be appropriate: an orthopedic mattress, a bed made of natural fabric, comfortable pillow.

Both therapists and gynecologists recommend that women take walks in the evening in any weather. Let them be at least half an hour after dinner. This will allow the woman to enrich the supply of oxygen, relieve tension. If a pregnant woman is accompanied by an interlocutor dear to her on a walk, then the benefits from it will be even higher.

You can ask your husband to do a relaxing back and leg massage.

If the pregnant woman cannot fall asleep within 30 minutes, then it is better to get up, leave the bedroom, listen to calm music, read, and go to bed again only when drowsiness appears. Stroke your tummy, sing a lullaby to your baby, remember the pleasant moments of childhood.

None sedatives a woman should not take on her own without consulting a doctor. The only thing you can try to drink is a glass of warm milk with honey, an infusion of mint, lemon balm. They are recommended to be consumed 30-40 minutes before going to bed.

If a woman knows that the cause of her insomnia lies in the fear of childbirth, then it is worth visiting a psychotherapist, consulting a psychologist.

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by problems falling asleep, insufficient duration or a violation of its quality for a long time. Insomnia during pregnancy is familiar to many women from the first weeks of conception, which is explained by changes in hormonal background organism.

The most sensitive to this problem are expectant mothers who have never encountered sleep disorders before. The situation is aggravated by the fact that insomnia that occurs during pregnancy negatively affects the woman's well-being and leads to overwork. This is why sleep disorders need to be addressed. Knowing the causes of insomnia during pregnancy can help.

According to statistics, at least 80% of expectant mothers experience sleep problems in the first half of pregnancy and already 97% in the third trimester. At the same time, insomnia that occurred in the first weeks after conception is considered one of.

The main causes of sleep disturbance during pregnancy are physiological and psychological factors.

Physiological reasons:

• pulling;
• frequent urge to empty the bladder;
• , nausea;
• fetal movements;
• shortness of breath, difficulty breathing;
• itching in the abdomen due to stretch marks on the skin;
• difficulties with choosing a comfortable sleeping position due to an enlarged abdomen.

Psychological reasons:

• anxiety, nervous tension;
• stress;
• nightmares;
• worries about the health of the unborn baby;

Insomnia during pregnancy can be various origins, but the fight against it should not be postponed. Psycho-emotional stress and physical fatigue as a result of constant lack of sleep negatively affect both the expectant mother and her baby, so you need to learn how to deal with it.

Features of sleep during pregnancy

AT different periods gestational sleep in pregnant women has different features.

In the first trimester

Insomnia in early pregnancy is common. Experts even consider it early sign pregnancy, which not all women are aware of. The occurrence of sleep disorders is most often the result of hormonal changes, which, in turn, provoke reversible disturbances in the activity of the nervous system.

Many women who have learned about the upcoming motherhood stop sleeping normally because of their worries. Such "emotional" insomnia, which occurs in early pregnancy, occurs in those women who do not have it or have difficulties in intra-family relationships.

Insomnia in the first trimester of pregnancy can also occur against the background. This usually happens from 5 weeks after conception. Severe toxicosis is the fate of every 3rd woman. Their sleep can hardly be called normal, as it is periodically interrupted by seizures, even at night. On the background feeling unwell the expectant mother is more susceptible to the influence of other negative factors, for example, increased dryness of the air and uncomfortable room temperature in the bedroom, noise from roads, etc.

With the onset of intensive growth of the uterus by the end of the first trimester, high blood pressure on the bladder, resulting in frequent calls to the toilet. Because of this, many women are forced to get up to 3 times a night. Of course, sleep is disturbed, there are problems with falling asleep, and it is not surprising that in daytime women feel tired and uncomfortable.

In the second trimester

Insomnia during pregnancy with the beginning of the second trimester in many women passes safely. The emotional tension of the first weeks passes, worries about the upcoming motherhood subside, general well-being improves due to the disappearance acute signs toxicosis, and the stomach has not yet grown enough to become a hindrance to sleep. For most expectant mothers, falling asleep and sleeping at this stage stabilize.

In the third trimester

Insomnia, which often occurs during pregnancy, in the third trimester interferes with the normal night's rest of almost all expectant mothers.

The following factors or features of the woman's condition intervene in this process:

• Baby kicks . baby on later dates is growing by leaps and bounds, while its physical activity becomes more tangible for the expectant mother. The fetus can push not only during the day, but also at night, while its periods of calm and wakefulness are completely chaotic, independent of the time on the clock.
• Inability to sleep in the usual position . During late pregnancy, sleeping in your favorite position - on your stomach or back - is extremely undesirable, so many mothers suffer from insomnia. Sleeping on the stomach is unacceptable and impossible for pregnant women for an obvious reason - there is excessive pressure on the fetus plus discomfort for the woman herself. is fraught with excessive pressure of the uterus on the vena cava, as a result of which not only the general well-being of the woman worsens, but fainting may also develop. Best Option in the later stages is sleep on the side.
• Heartburn . A common occurrence at the end of pregnancy. After eating in horizontal position this symptom only increases, so the quality of sleep will be disturbed by discomfort in the esophagus.
• Frequent urge to urinate . Even before early pregnancy frequent urination could be seen as a sign of it. In the third trimester, frequent urination becomes one of the causes of insomnia. This is due to the fact that shortly before childbirth, there is too little space left in the woman's pelvis for the bladder, so many expectant mothers are forced to get up several times during the night.
• Pain in the pelvis and back . The center of gravity at the end of pregnancy is shifted, a serious load on the back develops, all this leads to muscle strain and fatigue, provokes discomfort and pain in the spine. The same can be said about the pelvic bones, which tend to soften at the end of pregnancy, causing women to additionally experience new discomfort both during the day and at night.
• Training bouts . These are chaotic contractions of the uterus, which, due to the lack of cyclicity and increasing pain, have nothing to do with true ones. Most often, training contractions begin at night, at rest, as a result of which a woman, instead of sleeping, is forced to be alert, thinking about whether childbirth has begun or not.
• Days before birth . Anxiety and anxiety about the future labor activity quite justified for women, especially if the birth will be the first. Last days before the birth of a child, they are filled with a lot of anxieties, so insomnia in this case is a matter of course.

How to deal with insomnia

There are many ways, among which a woman will find a suitable one for herself.

Ensuring sleep comfort

First of all, you need to pay attention to sleep hygiene, for this it is recommended to use the following tips:

• Don't overeat before bed. It is better to give preference to light protein or carbohydrate foods, and just before going to bed, you can drink a glass of herbal tea or warm milk with a spoonful of honey. Herbs for tea should be chosen taking into account pregnancy, since not all medicinal plants allowed against her background. Doctors allow among the soothing herbs, St. John's wort and lemon balm, and the latter can be used in the absence of any problems with blood pressure.
• The room where a woman sleeps should not be cold or hot. It is necessary to put a room thermometer and monitor its readings. Ideally, room temperature should be between 18-20°C. You also need to monitor the humidity in the room. Excessively dry air interferes with normal sleep, provokes thirst, nasal congestion and general discomfort. If there is a similar problem, it is recommended to use a humidifier.
• A comfortable and spacious bed is the dream of every expectant mother. If there is a desire and opportunity, during pregnancy a woman can stay alone in the marital bed - so nothing will interfere with her during sleep.
• The optimal sleeping position is. It is in this position that nothing interferes with normal blood flow.
• Special ones that can be placed not only under the head, but also under the stomach, back and legs, help create more comfort during sleep.
• So that at night there is no psycho-emotional overexcitation, it is not recommended to be nervous before going to bed.

Medicines

Many women ask their doctor how to deal with insomnia during pregnancy with pharmaceutical preparations. Purpose medicines expectant mothers require extra caution. Currently, no safe drug is known to help pregnant women with sleep disorders. Therefore, you should not hope for an easy solution to the problem by taking a "magic" pill. It is better to fight insomnia in safer ways.

Relaxation

What is included in this item? Of course, evening walks in the fresh air, light loins and legs, a warm bath or shower, aromatherapy - all this is available for a woman who is preparing to become a mother. In the absence of contraindications, relaxation is allowed.

Exercises

What to do if you want to sleep, but sleep does not come?

The following simple exercises that can be performed at any stage of pregnancy will come to the rescue:

• Lying on your back, stretch your arms along the body, slightly raise your legs and imitate walking - most women claim that this method helps to fall asleep quickly enough.
• It will also help, which includes shallow breathing without abdominal tension, intermittent breathing (dog-like) and breathing with a delay of 20 seconds. All these exercises can be mastered on. These techniques are useful for expectant mothers: they not only help to calm down and saturate the blood with oxygen, but also relieve physical stress and reduce susceptibility to labor pain.

What can not be done?

To prevent insomnia developing pregnancy, it is important to remember what to do is not recommended.

You are exhausted, exhausted, but still you cannot sleep. Nightfall becomes torture. A cozy bed, a soft pillow... Previously, you only had to get to the bedroom, put your head on the pillow - and... it seems that in a second, an impudent alarm clock pulled you out of the arms of Morpheus, announcing the onset of a new day. And now the bedroom has turned into a torture chamber, and the treacherous god of sleep has completely forgotten about you - he probably flew off to beauties who were not burdened by a grown belly. But normal sleep is now doubly necessary for you: you are responsible for that tiny person whose existence so far depends entirely on you - on how you feel, what you eat and, of course, how you sleep; your insomnia will certainly not do him good ... Growing anxiety, fear of insomnia increases nervous tension, and it becomes even more difficult to fall asleep - a vicious circle is obtained, and you are in despair: what can be done to break it?

Loneliness (those who are nearby are now with their dreams, and not with you) and fear of an endless sleepless night - is this situation familiar to you? Let's talk about how to overcome it. First of all, about loneliness: I must say that in fact you ended up in a rather crowded company - millions of women are with you: according to statistics, 78% of pregnant women experience sleep problems. How to get rid of fear? Do not worry, calm down - all these standard recommendations of doctors are not so easy to implement. It seems to me that knowledge of the causes of insomnia and an understanding of the processes that are happening now in your body will help you here. And from considering the causes of insomnia, our conversation will naturally move on to the most diverse ways to overcome it - there are a whole lot of them in the arsenal of mankind, it cannot be that nothing suits you.

Causes of sleep disorders in pregnant women

For many women, insomnia begins already in the first trimester of pregnancy, some doctors even tend to consider sleep disturbances as one of the signs of pregnancy. In the second trimester, sleep usually returns to normal, but in the last three months before childbirth, insomnia is one of the most frequent and serious complications of pregnancy. Doctors, talking about the nature of sleep, usually say that insomnia is not a disease, but a symptom, an external manifestation of some processes taking place in our body. To defeat insomnia, you need to try to find out what these processes are and how you can neutralize their inevitable side effects.

Can lead to insomnia in the very early stages hormonal changes in a woman's body: for example, during pregnancy, the level of progesterone and a number of other hormones increases. Mobilizing forces for carrying a pregnancy, they also bring the body into a state of "combat readiness" and sometimes simply do not allow to relax.

As the pregnancy progresses, there are more and more reasons for insomnia. The causes of sleep disorders in pregnant women can be physiological:

Difficulties in finding a comfortable position (increased weight and a grown belly make this process very difficult);

Pain in the back and lower back;

fetal movement;

Frequent nighttime urge to urinate (the enlarged uterus presses on the bladder, now it needs to be emptied much more often);

Heartburn (disorders gastrointestinal tract generally characteristic of pregnancy);

Cramps (especially often pregnant women complain of leg cramps);

Itching in the abdomen due to stretching of the skin;

Shortness of breath (increased body weight makes breathing difficult, in addition, the uterus presses on the lungs);
and psychological:

Chronic fatigue;

nervous tension, stress (fear of upcoming changes, anxiety for the child, fear of childbirth);

Nightmares.

Any of these reasons is quite enough to deprive a woman of sleep, and most often they are also combined! Select from this list what is relevant for you, and move on to the next section of the article - tips on how to deal with insomnia. I want to warn you right away: you should not even try to follow the entire rather large list of tips that are given in it! Try to choose only what suits your case, what you personally like. If one recommendation does not help, try another. Each situation is individual, each woman needs to choose her own method, her own combination of techniques. Think of these recommendations not as medical advice (“Do it this way, and nothing else!”), but as friendly advice (“Why don’t you try this one too? If that doesn’t help, we’ll think of something else!”) .

How to deal with insomnia during pregnancy

Start the fight for the calm night sleep need ... in the morning! After all, the duration and quality of our sleep is largely determined by right mode and our behavior during the day. Try to adhere to the following recommendations:

Avoid overvoltage. The fatigue accumulated during the day does not always lead to sound sleep sometimes it turns out that after a hard day you are simply unable to relax.
Try not to go into the bedroom too often during the day. The sight of a bed that reminds you of a night of torment can increase your fear of insomnia, making it even more difficult for you to fall asleep at night.

If during the day you are used to sleeping for a while, try to give up this habit for a few days or at least reduce the time of daytime sleep - maybe nighttime sleep will be restored.

If you are having nightmares 1 , about which you then cannot forget, in the morning or in the afternoon talk about them with a loved one (husband, mother, girlfriend). Psychoanalysts consider the discussion of nocturnal dreams to be very effective tool overcoming fear of them: firstly, loved ones will try to calm you down, and most likely they will succeed, and secondly, putting into words the vague visions that tormented you, you yourself will find that there are no special reasons for fear.

During the day, find time and opportunity to do simple exercises that are within your power. Swimming, hiking and even dancing are considered very useful (in the latter case, of course, it all depends on the duration of pregnancy and your well-being).

Your body must get used to the fact that the bed is only a place for sleeping: get out of the habit of lying in bed - you should not read, watch TV, etc. while lying down.

In the evening, about two hours before bedtime, start preparing for the upcoming night to be calm and peaceful. Experts talk about sleep hygiene, which includes a number of activities:

Do not eat heavy meals shortly before bedtime: on a full stomach, you will toss and turn until the morning.

Do not assign to the evening cases that require physical and intellectual effort.

Avoid emotional stress and stressful situations during this period of the day (do not appoint unpleasant conversations and stormy explanations for the evening, ask relatives and friends not to call you in the evening and, of course, do not watch action movies and thrillers at night).

Take a warm bath or shower before bed. In the bath, you can add a decoction of chamomile or a few drops of any aromatic oil(for example, lavender) - this will help you relax.

Try to drink less in the evening (making sure that the total daily fluid intake is 6-8 glasses), this will help you cope with the cause of insomnia, the need to empty the bladder frequently.

Before going to bed, drink a cup of warm milk (if you don't like the taste of milk, you can add cinnamon, a little honey or sugar) or herbal tea (in this case, chamomile is often recommended, which has a relaxing effect). But the usual tonic tea (not to mention coffee!) Should be abandoned. By the way, milk contains tryptophan, which can be called a mild natural sleeping pill - this substance has a calming, sedative effect.

You can eat a small sandwich with boiled turkey before going to bed (the meat of this bird is also rich in tryptophan).

If you feel weak, dizzy in the evening, your heart rate increases, perhaps the cause of your insomnia is hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). In this case, sweet tea, juice or just a piece of sugar can help you (and be sure to tell your doctor about these symptoms so that he confirms or refutes this diagnosis and takes appropriate measures).

Before going to bed, apply lotion to the skin of the abdomen, this can prevent itching.

Ask your husband or someone close to give you a massage before going to bed: it will give you the opportunity to relax, relieve back and lower back pain, foot massage and ankle joints help avoid cramps. It may also be effective acupressure shiatsu, if someone in your family knows his technique, why not try it.

It is possible that homeopathic remedies properly selected by a specialist will help in the fight against insomnia.

To help some people sleep... sex. If you don't have medical contraindications to have sex, you feel the desire and know that usually after sex you are sleepy - why not?

But now the nightly ritual of preparation for sleep is completed, and you are already in bed. What to do at night so that a longed dream flies to you?

First of all - try not to be nervous, not to think that you will not be able to fall asleep, this will only worsen the situation.

AT bedroom it should be cool (however, it is necessary to avoid hypothermia of the legs - you can sleep in socks). If it is not possible to sleep with an open window, you need to ventilate the room well before going to bed.

Night clothes(shirt, pajamas) should be comfortable, made from natural materials, not restricting movement and breathing.

It is best to sleep on a comfortable mattress. Find out what is right for you - maybe a duvet cover, maybe a embossed mattress with a surface that resembles egg cartons, or maybe, on the contrary, it will be easier for you to sleep on a hard surface, and you just need to put boards under the mattress.

A pregnant woman needs a lot to sleep pillows(at least 3) most different shapes and size. Well, if you manage to get a special pillow for pregnant women - it has a wedge shape and is specially designed to put it under the stomach. After giving birth, you can use it while breastfeeding. Pillows can be placed under the side, under the neck, clamped between the legs; you can cover the entire mattress with pillows - such an advanced bed better accept the shape of your body.

Look for a comfortable posture in which you could sleep. You will not be able to sleep on your stomach and on your back - which means you will have to lie on your side (some doctors believe that it is better on the left - this increases blood flow to the uterus). Put one pillow under your stomach, squeeze the other between your knees, if your back and lower back hurt, you can tuck another pillow under your side. Sometimes women are advised to sleep in the fetal position (it is unnecessary to remind how physiological it is, I will only say that, by stimulating blood circulation, it contributes to the maximum relaxation of all muscles). You can put an extra pillow under your head - in some cases, this not only makes breathing easier, but also proves to be an effective remedy for heartburn.

It is possible that aromatherapy will help you. A drop of lavender oil can be useful not only in the bath, but also in bed.

If you haven't been able to fall asleep within half an hour, get up, go to another room, leaf through a magazine or read a book that can induce sleep, start knitting, listen to soothing music, and go to bed only when you feel sleep approaching.

And, of course, one cannot ignore the issue of sleeping pills, which is quite painful for pregnant women. Sleeping pills, like many others medications, in your position it is better, of course, not to apply. Doctors strongly insist that you should not resort to sleeping pills in the first trimester of pregnancy, when there is an active formation of embryonic tissues, and in the future they are unlikely to recommend that you take such drugs without sufficiently serious reasons. In any case - remember: under no circumstances make an independent decision on the use of sleeping pills! Even if you already resorted to it before pregnancy. Even if your pregnant friend drank it. Even if it was advised to you by a compassionate saleswoman from a pharmacy kiosk. The decision to use sleeping pills can only be taken by a doctor!