As soon as a woman becomes pregnant she starts being treated like a fragile being who might break if she does any work! This is unnecessary and turns a lovely time into one filled with unwarranted restrictions.Every culture has its own myths and misconceptions associated with pregnancy.
I am four months pregnant. I have low back pain in the evenings when I come back from work. I like to lie down flat on my back because it seems to give me great relief. My mother-in-law says I absolutely should not lie on my back. Is that true?
That is not true at all. You can sleep in any position that you are comfortable in.
As your pregnancy progresses, the size of the uterus will become much bigger. As the uterus becomes heavier, it tends to press on the major vein that returns blood from your legs to your heart. If you lie on your back you may feel giddy or breathless. Therefore, in the last two or three months it might be better for you to try and sleep on your side, as much as possible. However, it feels good to be flat on your back when you are having low back pain, so lying on your back for a short while is fine.
Of course, when you are sleeping you cannot control what position you are in. If you wake up on your back, it is probably because you were uncomfortable on your side and when you were asleep you just changed position. This will not harm your baby in any way.
Women who develop high blood pressure in pregnancy are advised to sleep on their side. This is because the weight of the uterus on the major blood vessels sets off mechanisms that can aggravate the blood pressure.
