Pregnancy

Sleeping well (enough) through pregnancy

4 min read · MyBloomingBelly editorial

First trimester sleep is mostly about surrender: progesterone is a natural sedative, so daytime sleepiness is real — nap when life allows. Night sleep fragments early thanks to a suddenly busy bladder; front-load your fluids earlier in the day and taper after dinner.

From the third trimester, make your side — either side, though left is often praised for blood flow — your going-to-sleep default. Settling to sleep on your back late in pregnancy compresses the main vein returning blood to your heart, and side-sleeping from 28 weeks is the safest habit. If you wake up on your back, don’t panic: waking is your body’s alarm working. Just roll back to your side.