You must have heard people tell you to use a pregnancy pillow. But the question is, How does a pregnancy pillow help you?
Should you use a pregnancy pillow, or is it alright to sleep without one during pregnancy.
Everything you want to know is here. Just read through the article to discover all there is to know about pregnancy and comfort.
Pregnancy can make a lot of things difficult and challenging. Be it walking, climbing stairs, or sitting down, it all becomes a task.
But one thing that most women find difficult to deal with is bedtime. Aside from the frequent trips to the bathroom, laying down becomes hard. Doctors recommend six to nine hours of sleep for pregnant women, and as the body changes, this can become increasingly difficult.
You need to figure out a posture that makes you comfortable, and sometimes nothing really works.
Laying on the belly is not really an option, for obvious reasons, while laying on the back is also not advised, because it puts too much pressure on your back, and it reduces the blood flow to the baby.
Laying on the side is the only way to get the least discomfort.
With a belly, however, this is also not an easy feat. Is there any way for pregnant women to get at least some comfort, you may ask. This is where the pregnancy pillow comes to the rescue.
So let us check it out.
How Does a Pregnancy Pillow Help You?
Unlike normally shaped pillows, pregnancy pillows have a shape that conforms to the shape of an expecting mother’s body, no matter how far along they are in their pregnancy.
Pregnancy can be a tough time for you. It is emotional and physically taxing, with hormones going awry and your body experiencing frequent changes. Dealing with these changes can be a tough call.
Aside from the mood swings, the constant cravings, the varying symptoms, one thing that remains unchanged is the gain in the weight you will encounter.
As the weeks and months pass, and as your baby grows, so does your belly.
Depending upon your body type and metabolism you will experience weight gain. Some women gain weight just around their bellies, while others can get bigger overall. In all cases, the excess weight is a source of great discomfort.
One thing that can help ease the pain and provide some relief is a pregnancy pillow.
Pregnancy pillows are designed especially to accommodate your changed body and assist you in achieving comfort. They provide snug support that helps you relax.
You can sleep better, feel comfortable and less sore, and getting up is also easier. The more comfortable a pregnant woman is, the better the health of the baby.
Generally, pregnancy pillows can be quite versatile and help you in a lot of ways.
1. Help To Reduce Back & Neck Pain:
Pregnancy pillows are designed specially to give the right amount of support and prevent the spinal cord from being burdened by the belly.
The wrong posture or excess weight can result in neck pain during pregnancy and this is where you can use a pregnancy pillow to its full potential.
It can greatly help by improving your posture during extended periods and reducing pain in the back and the neck.
Placing the pregnancy pillow just in the nape of the neck improves the posture and reduces any neck pain.
Also, it gets into the crevices of the spine to ensure that less pressure is placed on the back which means a decrease in back pain.
2.) Relief from Belly & Hip Pain
Your belly may hurt during pregnancy, especially as it progresses along, this is because the skin of the belly becomes stretched and taut as your baby grows and the womb enlarges.
It is common for expectant mothers to feel itchiness and pain in the belly.
In addition to this, a whole lot of weight is being put on the hips at the same time
A pregnancy pillow can be wedged in just under the belly to help get some weight off and reduce the pain.
It helps to cushion the belly and keep it a little elevated. An unsupported belly flops down and puts pressure on the back, the hips, and overall.
A pregnancy pillow relieves the pressure put on the hips as it takes some of the weight of the belly (placing wedged just under the belly) and gives the hips some comfort, making them less painful.
3. Helping to reduce rib and shoulder pain:
It may come as a surprise, but the rib cage can get really sore during pregnancy.
Aside from the pressure of the growing belly, the increase in the breasts and the baby’s movements make the ribs hurt.
Along with it, Shoulder pain can be extremely hard to bear for pregnant women as their posture changes and the tension on the back increases.
The shoulders are weighted down and this can lead to a lot of pain.
With a pregnancy pillow, the weight can be distributed more evenly so the shoulders are not weighted down as much.
Using the pillow correctly will enable you to take off the stress from your shoulders which will make you more relaxed and comfortable.
4. Help stomach & Side sleepers:
Many pregnancy pillows are made especially for stomach sleepers. Inflatable pillows are made with bumps in place for the belly so pregnant women can easily lay on their stomachs without worrying about putting pressure on their womb.
Pregnancy pillows are soft and can be twisted into shape easily to fit any posture and assume any position.
Having one can not only help during the pregnancy but also help with breastfeeding.
They are large enough to support the neck, the shoulders, the back, the belly, etc.
Side sleepers can go for a full-body pregnancy pillow, or even a wedge pillow, to help improve their posture while sleeping.
The pillow will balance out the body and lead to relief from pain.
5.) Help with pelvic & sciatica pain:
Pregnant women more often than not experience pelvic pain due to the constant pressure the abdomen places on the pelvic.
Tension in the muscles and lack of stability in the joints during pregnancy leads to a triggering of sciatica pain. Pain in the back and pelvic aggravate the possibility of sciatica pain.
A pregnancy pillow conforms to the shape of the belly and helps provide support to the lower back which makes the pelvis less stressed and relieves the pain.
So, I hope you found this, “How does a pregnancy pillow help” article useful and help you to make a valuable decision in the future.
Final Word:
A pregnancy pillow is a good investment when it comes to getting relief and comfort during your pregnancy and those next few months when you are nursing your little one.
These pillows are great for providing relief. They conform to the contours of your body, providing support where necessary. Overall, pregnancy pillows can be used in a number of ways.
They are a way for you to achieve a better posture, relieve pressure from the lower half of the body and help elevate certain parts of the body, like feet.
They can be used, lying down, sitting up or when during nursing, so they are definitely versatile. They are great tools for pregnant moms, in fact for parents in general.
There are a variety of pregnancy pillows available online and in stores. Check out this list of the best pregnancy pillow of 2020.
So, what you think, “How does a pregnancy pillow help you?” Put your valuable answer in the comments section to help other moms like you.
And don’t forget to share this article with the person you love.
Sakshi Patel
Senior Content Writer
Sakshi Patel is a busy Mom who enjoys spending most of her time with her cute daughter and a pet dog. She joins us as a senior content writer, and because of her creative writing style, has become our top-rated content writer