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Thursday 28 July 2022

Pillows and Pregnancy


If you should know anyone who is pregnant you may wish to pass on these words which I have taken from Diabetes Diet Blog 

"NICE*: Use pillows to sleep on your side in the last 3 months of pregnancy

Adapted from BMJ 6 Nov 2021 NICE: Routine antenatal care for women and their babies.

Although the evidence base is small, evidence suggests that after 28 weeks of pregnancy, women who fall asleep on their backs, have an increased risk of having a baby born small for gestational age or even stillbirth.

They suggest that women use pillows to alter their position in bed so that lying on their side is easier.

This was the main new bit of information from this updated review which is important for women to know. The last review was published in 2008.

Women don’t need to go via their GP to access antenatal care. They can self refer, make an appointment with a midwife, any other appropriate health care professional, or via school nurses, community centre or refugee hostel. At a midwife led booking appointment she will be given information on all the things she can modify, by doing or not doing things to improve her chances of having a healthy baby. Partner involvement is considered to be helpful at all stages of pregnancy and delivery.

They also state that if a woman has vaginal bleeding after 13 weeks of pregnancy, she should be referred to hospital. (This normally happens and is not new advice).

Rates of maternal mortality and stillbirth are highest among women and babies from deprived areas, and higher among black, mixed ethnicity and Asian women compared with white women.

Routine ultrasound scanning is not recommended in low risk singleton pregnancies during the third trimester."
Words above from Diabetes Diet Blog here

* (NICE) is The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in England that publishes guidelines in four areas, read more about it here

You may also be interested in reading the post 
Having trouble sleeping - a new pillow may help - read it here


Please note that articles are provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. If you have any concerns about your general health, you should contact your local health care provider.

... and just a reminder to keep checking your spam folder as many bloggers are still finding comments are going incorrectly into spam even after moderation - read more here

All the best Jan

22 comments:

Tom said...

...not an issue here!

Elephant's Child said...

I have never been (and will never be) pregnant but it is good to hear about support services like this.
Sigh at blogger and its spam filters. It seems to take a particular dislike to some people (I often have to rescue your comments on my blog).

happyone said...

I used a pillow many years ago! :)

J.P. Alexander said...

No lo sabia, gracias por le dato. Te mando un beso.

My name is Erika. said...

I can't remember how I slept when I was pregnant. That was too long ago, but it's a shame I can't remember anything about sleeping.

Practical Parsimony said...

I cannot imagine how a pregnant woman in her third trimester could sleep on her back. I certainly could not. But, it is always better to know more information.

peppylady (Dora) said...

I think we all have our favor pillow.
Coffee is on and stay safe

Angie's Recipes said...

Good to know!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com

Margaret D said...

Oh gosh, I mostly slept on my side and no pillow but knowledge wasn't around them, both my sons were big babies and healthy, so lucky.

William Kendall said...

Not an issue for me either!

CJ Kennedy said...

I was told to lie on my left side to relieve pressure on liver and to improve circulation

R's Rue said...

So interesting.

Jeanie said...

This is interesting. Molly loved her pregnancy pillow but I never knew the science behind them.

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...


Pillow cushioning between knees, prego or not is comfortable.

Laura. M said...

Duermo bien. Buena información. Gracias
Buen fin de semana para Todos.
Un abrazo.

Debbie said...

i can't remember what i was told, it was so long ago. still i found this interesting!!

Magaly Guerrero said...

Not pregnant and don't know anyone pregnant at this moment. But I do know that a good pillow (or three) can do wonders for many situations. In my case, sleeping on my left side with a pillow between my knees and one wedged under my side (at the back) helps my digestion. And goodness knows that crohnies need all the help we can get when it comes to our gut.

Giorgio said...

Nice post with interesting info. Thanks!
Have a nice weekend!

Teresa said...

Siempre interesante, me gustan tus reportajes. Un beso.

baili said...

The first fresh piece of news was important dear Jan .Thanks for sharing. It can be useful with others around indeed

Eli and Elm said...

Pregnancy pillow is a cushion or pillow that is designed with the requisition of pregnant persons to help them by providing a comfortable sleep and their growing bump so they can rest comfortably as long as possible every night. Best Pregnancy Pillow