Being pregnant with a baby is a blessing and as well as a challenge at the same time. The woman’s body goes through several changes during nine months span of time.
For some ladies, the initial period of pregnancy is troublesome, and to a few others, the last trimester gives the most stringent time when the bump is fully grown, and the baby is all made in the belly.
Using A pregnancy pillow might helps but when to start using a pregnancy pillow is the key that you should know.
The following article aims to address the sleep issues of pregnant women and the role of pregnancy pillows. We will explore the following aspects in detail:
- What are the difficulties attaining various sleep positions during pregnancy life?
- What is the role of a maternity pillow in a pregnant woman’s life?
- when should i start using a pregnancy pillow? Is there exist the right time or wrong time for using a maternity pillow?
- What is the most crucial time to use the maternity pillows?
- What are the critical stages of pregnancy and the use of maternity support pillow during this time?
- How do pregnancy pillows help during pregnancy time to cope with the disrupted sleep patterns of moms to be?
- What are the various benefits of Pregnancy support pillows?
- When is it needed exactly to sleep with Pregnancy Support Pillows in order to bring ease to the moms-to-be?
It always remains a confusion for every expectant mother.
But before throwing light on the pregnancy support pillows, let’s have an overview of some of the challenges a pregnant woman usually deals with during this journey. It is a fact that during pregnancy, a woman takes care of not only herself but as well as the life growing in her womb. It becomes difficult at times, even to sit, sleep, and turn over.
One of the nightmares that a pregnancy journey results in is deprivation of adequate sleep. Women having insomnia, often spend the long weary nights being awakened.
When bump starts giving the appearance, it becomes a challenge to attain a right position to lie down and sleep.
What are the Discomforts and Challenges Expectant Mother Has to Deal with?
The journey of carrying and growing a baby in the womb remains throughout a roller coaster. The difficulties keep on shifting from the first trimester to the second and from the second to the third one. Each period comes with its discomforts that expecting ladies manage with.
In the early months of pregnancy, morning sickness, nausea followed by vomiting, fear, nighttime hunger, hormonal changes are a few of the causes of poor quality sleep.The ladies suffer from insufficient nighttime sleep. Thus the daytime naps are frequent in pregnant women.
The level of progesterone in women keeps on fluctuating during this journey. It gives rise to aching, joint pain, swollen ankles, low blood flow, pressure on the liver, and the bladder. Deprivation of healthy and sufficient sleep leads to insomnia. The mom-to-be is unable to attain a rightful position for herself and as well as for the baby. These are the everyday trials in the later period of the pregnancy. As the uterus keeps on growing and enlarging, it interferes a lot in the sleep patterns of mothers to be.
How Does Pregnancy Affect the Sleep Patterns of a Pregnant Woman?
According to a study that was held in 2015 about finding out the sleep issues in pregnant women states, “Frequent urination and difficulty finding a comfortable position frequently disturb sleep. All women should be screened and treated for sleep disturbances throughout pregnancy.”
The results of the study depict that night awakening, trips to the bathroom, lack of sleep are found in all 2500 expectant women that were studied under the above research.
The statistics of this research strengthen the claim and discovers that 76% of women with low sleep quality, 38% of the women with inadequacy of nighttime sleep and 49% moms to be suffered from day time sleep.
Experts’ Advice of Using a Maternity Support Pillow
In the light of the above facts and the figures, sleep therapists and the experts recommend few pregnancy tools and user-friendly accessories to alleviate the discomforts that expectant mothers dealt with during their challenging journey. The pregnancy pillow or maternity support pillow is one of the choices during your blessed and as well as a challenging period.
They can pretty much address your difficulties and make this timeless agitating and tormenting for you. The upcoming discussion will give you a step by step guide for buying a pregnancy pillow, the use of the Pregnancy Pillow, and when to start using a pregnancy pillow according to your needs and demands?
So let’s have a look at the definition of a maternity support pillow, a.k.a pregnancy pillow.
What is a Maternity Support Pillow or a Pregnancy Pillow?
A maternity pillow or pregnancy pillow is a form of pillow that provides an extraordinary and targeting support by addressing the ever-changing contours and curves of your body that pregnancy gives rise to.
These sorts of pillows are prominent in size than the usual pillows, come in peculiar shape and size that suits best to the various needs of an expecting mom.
In the later period of pregnancy, the baby grows, so do the difficulties. It gets more troublesome and full of discomfort for a mother to bear.
Maternity support pillow is used to alleviate problematic situations like inadequate sleep and body aches during the journey of pregnancy.
For more information, Click there to check our top recommendation best pregnancy pillow that has been review by expert!
When to Start Using A Pregnancy Pillow?
1) Using A Pregnancy Pillow at Various Stages of Pregnancy
The nine-month pregnancy span is usually divided into three stages. Each stage is comprised of 3-month duration. These stages are generally called as:
- 1st Trimester
- 2nd Trimester
- 3rd Trimester
Each trimester has its share of physical changes in the woman’s body. Concerning the baby development in the womb, every trimester appears with new predicaments and dilemmas. The body is going through a number of changes with each trimester. It includes new curves in the body, growing bump, increasing weight of the baby, and the various physical discomforts that accompany them.
2) When Should You Start Using A Pregnancy Pillow?
Many expectant mothers raised the issue of using pregnancy pillow in their pregnancy life. They want to dig up the right time to use these specially designed pillows that are unique as compared to the standard pillows.
The confusion lies in the minds of mostly those moms to be who are experiencing their first baby.
They have a lot of queries regarding the right time of using the pregnancy pillow to get benefited by them to the fullest.
Let’s solve the confusion of many moms to be by unraveling the answer to the query, ‘when should i start using a pregnancy pillow?’ Its solution is understandable. It is not a matter to be worried a least about.
There is simply no right time or wrong time for using a pregnancy pillow. Neither there is any fine line drawn when to stay away from it nor when to grab it.
Time may Vary from Mom to Mom
The use of a Pregnancy Pillow can entirely depend upon your choice. According to your health dynamics, you can predict the right time for yourself to use a particular sort of pregnancy pillow.
Every woman’s pregnancy differs from another woman and even from other pregnancies as well. You might need a pregnancy pillow according to your body needs. Sometimes the use is early in one pregnancy and sometimes later in the other pregnancy.
So there is not any hard and fast rule to abide by the timing of when to get benefitted by it.
3). When Do You Use a Pregnancy Pillow?
Although there is no right time or wrong time for using a pregnancy pillow. However, we observed a significant number of pregnancies. We asked numerous moms about their most discomforting phase of pregnancy life, the period when they needed the pregnancy pillow the most.
According to them, the end of 2nd trimester and the 3rd trimester as a whole remain the most crucial stages of the pregnancy. The baby is rapidly evolving and getting bigger in size and weight.
Most of the moms are of the view that after 20 weeks of the pregnancy backache is severely felt, that requires mandatory support. The sleep disruption reaches a maximum in the last trimester that requires ergonomically designed pillows. They could provide expectant moms the targetted support to their various body parts.
The later stages of pregnancy affect the mothers’ sleep profoundly. It becomes even a challenge to lie down with their favorite position with a big belly.
It is the time when the various size of pregnancy pillows can suit best to your health and body needs.
The main goal of using these pregnancy pillows during the tough phase of pregnancy is to provide pain relief to the mommies. Which is why knowing how to use a pregnancy pillow correctly will determine your sleeping quality during pregnancy.
Benefits of Using a Maternity Pillow during the Pregnancy Time
As we have seen earlier that by evaluating the challenges a pregnant lady goes through, the doctors, midwives, and the sleep therapists suggest maternity support pillows. They aim to bring ease in mom to be life, to make her able to cope with disrupted sleep patterns, and to provide pain relief.
- The maternity pillow targets the need of the specific area. It allows for adopting positions that are good for blood circulation.
- These pillows allow turning over the sides in the best possible postures.
- The curves and the arm of these pillows allow cuddling and can give relief from body aches.
- These pillows have a cooling system in their covers to allow pregnant women to get rid of night sweats.
- These pillows are in various kinds from a small-sized pillow to a full body length pillow, which supports every part of the body from head to foot.
You can refer more to our Top 8 benefits of pregnancy pillow for more information.
Why Use a Pregnancy Pillow?
According to the National Sleep Foundation, “Pillows can offer relief by providing support where you need it”. If these pillows are not used by pregnant women, one can have sleep disruptions even more terribly.
The usual body aches, sheer belly weight, sleepiness nights that can be easily managed with these specially designed pregnancy pillow, would be treated with medications otherwise.
During pregnancy, you can have disturbed sleep patterns for sure. It is due to being unable to attain the right sleeping position. The sleep inadequacy could not only affect the expecting mother but as well as fatal for the baby.
Moreover, if the expectant moms do not take advantage of a maternity support pillow, they will require having multiple pillows for every part of their body separately to give support to them. There will be a pile of several small pillows and the cushions tossing here and there on the bed. They would occupy the space asymmetrically.
That is why it is highly advisable by the doctors and sleep therapists to go for pregnancy pillow, particularly in the later period of pregnancy. The mothers can minimize their night troubles and position crises to a great extent by using these pillows for sure.
What are the Various Kinds of Pregnancy Support Pillows?
Let’s take a review of different type of a pregnancy pillows available in the market with its pros and cons.
The moms to be can select the best pregnancy pillow for herself and know how to sleep with these maternity Support Pillows.
One can choose the pillow that suits the requirements of the body. Keeping in mind the features of various pregnancy pillows, one can surprise herself with the best one.
Bottom Line
As mention earlier, There is no right or wrong time when to start using a pregnancy pillow. It basically depends on the individual.
But for me, I prefer to get it at a very beginning stage, as the pregnancy pillow is not only can be used for pregnant women during pregnancy but to anyone that might encounter insomnia, body pain and does not sleep well at night. Therefore during my 1st trimester, I already start using to get used to the pregnancy pillow. Then during my 2nd and 3rd trimester. I am able to get a comfortable sleep without any problem.
Now, it’s your turn. Share with us your experience when do you start using a pregnancy pillow?
Drop your valuable opinion in the comment box, and let me know if you have any questions in mind.
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