Sleeping on right side while pregnant slightly increases risk of stillbirth

Research recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), suggests that the sleep habits of a mother-to-be may affect stillbirth risk. During this study, researchers attempted to find out if issues such as snoring, sleep position and other sleep practices of pregnant women may be associated with risk of late stillbirth. What the research shows:

• A significant link was found between women who sleep often during the day, or who sleep more than average at night, and late stillbirth risk.
• Pregnant women who slept on their back or on their right side were more likely to experience a late stillbirth compared with women who slept on their left side.
• No link was found between snoring and risk of late stillbirth.
• No relation was found between daytime sleepiness and risk of late stillbirth.

How worried should you be, if you always sleep on your back or right side? Not very worried at all. Researchers point out that the increased risk of stillbirth, while there, is exceptionally small. The odds of your baby being stillborn are 1.96 per 1,000 if you sleep on your left side. If you sleep on your right side, or your back, your stillbirth odds only rise to 3.93 per 1,000. Plus, we all know that it can be hard to get comfortable and sleep well during pregnancy. Trust me, if you sleep best on your back or your right side, go ahead and do so. When you're pregnant you need your rest to stay healthy. It's so much better to sleep well than toss and turn and get zero rest due to an uncomfortable sleep position. Need more info?

• How to get better pregnancy sleep
• Top 6 pregnancy sleep problems solved
• Lullabies for pregnancy health

+ Association between maternal sleep practices and risk of late stillbirth: a case-control study